[Ksummit-discuss] [CORE TOPIC] GPL defense issues

[Karen Sandler]

I know that it's somewhat late in this process, but I was encouraged by 
a few
kernel developers here at LinuxCon to propose a discussion about 
enforcement
at the summit. There has been a lot of news recently (Patrick McHardy's
enforcement, the Principles of Community Oriented Enforcement, VMware
dismissal/appeal) resulting in quite a bit of speculation and 
discussion.

I think a Q&A on where things stand on all of these matters would make 
sense
and in that context also have a discussion about the GPL and enforcement
generally if there's time. It seems to me by the number of questions 
I've been
getting that many more kernel devs are interested in these topics than 
ever
before, and many who have previously preferred not to think about 
licensing
are starting to change their minds.

There have been so many discussions about these topics by industry 
lawyers and
executives behind closed doors, but developers have been generally kept 
out of
the loop. Understanding what's going on and figuring out if there's 
consensus
on some of these issues is likely to help the kernel community deal with 
the
impact down the road. At the very least, I think kernel developers each 
need
to decide how they feel about GPL enforcement as silence and inaction is 
as
much of a choice as voicing a view. From what I see, the timing on this
discussion has become critical.

thanks!
karen



Karen M. Sandler
Executive Director, Software Freedom Conservancy
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