[Approval request] CMGPL licence

[John Cowan]

Marcel van der Boom wrote:


> for the approval request (the content is not that different from the GPL)
> That I used the GPL as a starting point, does that mean that I modified 
> the GPL?


It means that you created a derivative work of the GPL, something
you cannot do without permission of the copyright holder.

> If I change the wording of the license without changing the meaning and 
> intent of the license (if that is at all possible) would it still be an 
> adaptation of the GPL.


If you write your own license, not incorporating substantial portions
of the GPL, then you are copyright-independent of the GPL.  Good luck.


> I will nevertheless contact fsf what their point of view is on this.


Good.

 
>> 1) to reduce load on the OSI approval process;
> valid reason, but if it's simple it can be quick and I'm not in a hurry. 


OSI approval is neither simple nor quick (months to over a year),
because once granted, approval can't be revoked.


> I disagree, the GPL is *widely used* but not well understood. It all
> depends which audience we are talking about. Especially in businesses 
> the license is not well understood.


Granted.  The changes you have introduced, though, probably won't help
clarify it that much.

> Well, we do (obviously). We don't see the need for 3c and we want our
> license to be as lean as possible. The advocacy of the GPL in the 
> license itself is actually bothering us. The license deals with rights 
> and obligations. The explanation is not part of it (in my opinion). 
> We've done some GPL-ed work and customers (actually almost all of them) 
> asked us to remove the section. This was the trigger to draw up our own 
> license without the preamble.


I don't follow whether the customers objected to 3c or to the preamble.
I would think the FSF would be more willing to tolerate a preamble-less
GPL than one with a substantial article removed, though I may be quite
wrong.

-- 
Not to perambulate             || John Cowan <jcowan at reutershealth.com>
    the corridors               || http://www.reutershealth.com
during the hours of repose     || http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
    in the boots of ascension.  \\ Sign in Austrian ski-resort hotel

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