In this 47-page whitepaper, Matt Asay (“former Linux naysayer-turned-disciple”) analyzes the GNU General Public License (GPL), picking apart what it means (and does not mean) for users, and whether it is enforceable. Asay also details how its terms inhibit and foster innovation, and why we should care. Asay wrote this paper while attending Stanford Law School, where he studied under Professor Larry Lessig. Also included, is a proposed revision to the GPL. This interesting and informative whitepaper is 'must reading' for anyone interested in the Embedded Linux market!

Asay writes . . .

“Increasingly, software is going 'open source,' with increasingly good results. Linux, the most visible of open-source software, is rapidly gaining ground in both embedded and server software markets, and even begins to make inroads on the desktop.”

“This is particularly interesting given the peculiar licensing structure that governs it: the GNU General Public License (GPL) . . .”

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