What's up with GPLv3? Hoping to clear up both confusion and FUD, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) Compliance Lab will hold a public Q&A session on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at 2 PM (ET).

Since it was formally released on June 29, the FSF-authored GNU General Public License version 3 (GPLv3) has received a somewhat tepid response from the open source community, especially from Linux developers. Claiming that there has been a lot of “FUD” and “bad reporting” about GPLv3, the FSF hopes to answer developers' questions and concerns about the new open-software license and help them decide whether it makes sense to upgrade from GPLv2.

Linux device developers, in particular, are concerned over new “anti-tivoization” language in the license. How will GPLv3's new restrictions apply to device companies like TiVo, which incorporated software under the terms of GPL, but used encryption hardware to keep users from running modified versions on the hardware?

Linux developers also have questions about the new anti-patent collusion language in GPLv3 and what it means to joint patent partnerships such as the one between Microsoft and Novell.

To attend the meeting, visit the #gplv3-meeting channel on Freenode. For more information on the licensing issues, see the FSF's page on this topic.

 
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.