CUPS relicensed to Apache v2

Posted Nov 9, 2017 16:27 UTC (Thu) by josh (subscriber, #17465)
In reply to: CUPS relicensed to Apache v2 by pizza
Parent article: CUPS relicensed to Apache v2

There isn't that much GPLv2-only software out there; anything GPLv2-or-later is fine, because GPLv3 and Apache 2.0 are compatible.

CUPS relicensed to Apache v2

Posted Nov 9, 2017 16:29 UTC (Thu) by juliank (guest, #45896) [Link] (8 responses)

I think there's a lot GPL-2 only software out there. Well too much, anyway.

CUPS relicensed to Apache v2

Posted Nov 9, 2017 16:56 UTC (Thu) by josh (subscriber, #17465) [Link] (7 responses)

Too much, certainly. But not the majority of GPLed code. There are a few very prominent examples, certainly, but I would strongly suspect there's far more "v2 or later" code than "v2 only" code.

CUPS relicensed to Apache v2

Posted Nov 10, 2017 11:22 UTC (Fri) by Wol (subscriber, #4433) [Link]

QUANTITY of code is irrelevant. Linux is a relatively small amount of code but there's a lot of copies in use.

How much *actively* *used* GPL2 code is out there?

Cheers,
Wol

CUPS relicensed to Apache v2

Posted Nov 10, 2017 17:49 UTC (Fri) by xtifr (guest, #143) [Link] (5 responses)

And the most prominent example--the Linux kernel itself--has the advantage of being highly self-contained; it's not *going* to be linked directly with things like CUPS.

Anyway, anyone who chose the GPL2-only license had to know that they were limiting their compatibility, so I don't feel particularly sad about their loss. Feels like karma to me. But, I suppose, if it turns out to be a big enough issue, perhaps Apple (who seems to tolerate the GPL2, but hates 3) could be persuaded to dual-license as Apache & GPL2-only....

CUPS relicensed to Apache v2

Posted Nov 10, 2017 20:24 UTC (Fri) by ballombe (subscriber, #9523) [Link] (2 responses)

Karma ? What benefit that ASL 2 brings over the ASL 1.1, the MPL or the BSD licenses outside being GPL-2 incompatible ?

CUPS relicensed to Apache v2

Posted Nov 10, 2017 20:27 UTC (Fri) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link] (1 responses)

Apache 2.0 has a clear patent license language, unlike 1.1.

CUPS relicensed to Apache v2

Posted Nov 11, 2017 10:51 UTC (Sat) by Wol (subscriber, #4433) [Link]

Which to my mind is very much a HINDRANCE.

Unfortunately, in today's world it's a necessity. But it shouldn't be there :-(

Cheers,
Wol

CUPS relicensed to Apache v2

Posted Nov 14, 2017 14:07 UTC (Tue) by cortana (subscriber, #24596) [Link] (1 responses)

Or even license the client library under a permissive license...

CUPS relicensed to Apache v2

Posted Nov 14, 2017 14:10 UTC (Tue) by juliank (guest, #45896) [Link]

Yes, just put that part under BSD and done. Or just add an additional patent grant that is GPL-2 compliant or whatever.