Bonum Certa Men Certa

Stafford Masie: "We Will Be GPLv3 Compliant, Trust Me"

Here is some from Stafford Masie's presentation at the recent CITI forum. According to Masie, Novell will alter their agreement with Microsoft, if necessary (and it makes 'business sense'), in order to be compliant with the upcoming GNU General Public License version 3.

While he makes a point to reiterate how the current agreement apparently does not violate the GPLv2, an ominous thing in my mind is how Masie refers, in an offhand manner, to the downstream effects of their Microvell agreement in relation to GPL2, what could that be referring to?

Anyhow, here is Novell pledging to "do what is right" in relation to the Microvell deal and GPL3:

Now, people say, you already violate GPL version 3, no we dont because GPL version 3 is not there yet.

And, it is a good thing that GPL 3 is being discussed so extensively right now, because we are participants in that entire authoring. Y'know we talk to Stallman, and we talk to Barrett and all these people that are authors of GPL version 3, and we'll continue to do that.

Now, as GPL version 3 matures, and Stallman has said we're not in violation of GPL version 2 at the moment, now we're not with the current agreement, but he believes in GPL3 he will put verbiage in there to ensure that we are.

Y'know, he wants to ensure that its not just patents that you've bought that will violate GPL v3 if you own them, that agreement, but the fact that an agreement like this is in place that downstream affects people... that utilize your distribution makes you in violation of GPL version 3, so we're working very closely on the authoring of that, we will be GPL V3 compliant, trust me, we will,ok?

Will we have to alter our agreement with Microsoft to ensure that it happens? We will, we'll do what's right. We'll participate, and yeah we'll do what it takes, but its gonna be a collaborative effort.

We'll talk to the GPL version 3 authors... like we are right now, I think common sense will prevail, because at the end of the day we actually do benefit the community being here, we do benefit, its not... it doesn't make sense to vindictively come after some of these agreements, there's got to be a reason behind it, and we'll listen to that reason, and we'll concede where we need to concede and where it makes business sense, thats always been our stance.

so, GPL v2 according to Stallman, we do not, y'know we dont infringe on the GPL2 whatsoever with this current agreement.


More to come from Stafford Masie's presentation, including what Novell considers their role to be within the 'community', how Novell wants to be considered the "800lb. Penguin" (alongside IBM), how Enterprise customers don't like indemnity, and more...

The full transcript of Masie's presentation will be posted soon, or at least the full transcript of the OGG, it cuts off early when it was about to get interesting and is a little bit of a disappointment. Anyone in attendance that has a full recording, please contact me.

Also, check out the transcript of the Q&A session for more from Stafford Masie on Microvell and Software Patents.

Recent Techrights' Posts

It's Cheaper to Pay Bribes (and Produce Press Releases) Than to Pay Fines (After Lots of Negative Publicity)
Does the UK still have real sovereignty or do corporations from overseas purchase decisions and outcomes?
November 2023 Over With GNU/Linux at All-Time Highs According to statCounter
ChromeOS+GNU/Linux combined are about 7% of the "market"
 
Links 01/12/2023: Facebook Infested With Malicious Campaigns by Imposters, ACLU Gives Advice on Doxxing and Online Harassment
Links for the day
Just Like Its Budget Allocation, the Linux Foundation Devotes About 3% Of Its Latest Newsletter to Linux, Devotes More to Linux's Rivals
It's just exploiting the brand
Links 01/12/2023: Google Invokes Antitrust Against Microsoft
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news
UK Government Allowing Microsoft to Take Over Activision Blizzard Will Destroy Jobs
Over 30,000 fired this year? More?
New Report Provides Numerical Evidence That Google Hired Too Many People From Microsoft (and Became Malicious, Evil, Sociopathic)
"Some 12,018 former Microsoft employees currently work for the search and data giant"
Google: Keep Out, Don't Save Your Files, and Also Let Us Spy on Everything You Do
Do you still trust "clown" storage?
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, November 30, 2023
IRC logs for Thursday, November 30, 2023
Links 01/12/2023: Many Suppressions in Hong Kong and Attempts to Legitimise Illegal and Unconstitutional Fake Patent 'Court' in EU (UPC)
Links for the day
Gemini Not Deflated Yet (Soon Turning 5!)
Gemini numbers still moving up, the protocol will turn five next summer
Links 30/11/2023: Belated End of Henry Kissinger and 'Popular Science' Shuts Online Magazine
Links for the day
Site Priorities and Upcoming Improvements
pages are served very fast
[Meme] One Person, Singular Pronoun
Abusing people into abusing the English language is very poor diplomacy
Ending Software Patents in Recent Years (Software Freedom Fighters MIA)
not a resolved issue
New Article From Richard Stallman Explains Why He Says He and She for Unknown Person (Not 'They')
"Nowadays I use gender-neutral singular pronouns for a person whose gender I don't know"
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, November 29, 2023
IRC logs for Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news
Links 30/11/2023: Rushing Patent Cases With Shorter Trial Scheme (STS), Sanctions Not Working
Links for the day
Links 30/11/2023: Google Purging Many Accounts and Content (to Save Money), Finland Fully Seals Border With Russia
Links for the day
Lookout, It's Outlook
Outlook is all about the sharing!
Updated A Month Ago: Richard Stallman on Software Patents as Obstacles to Software Development
very recent update
The 'Smart' Attack on Power Grid Neutrality (or the Wet Dream of Tiered Pricing for Power, Essentially Punishing Poorer Households for Exercising Freedom Like Richer Households)
The dishonest marketing people tell us the age of disservice and discrimination is all about "smart" and "Hey Hi" (AI) as in algorithms akin to traffic-shaping in the context of network neutrality
Links 29/11/2023: VMware Layoffs and Too Many Microsofters Going Inside Google
Links for the day
Is BlueMail a Client of ZDNet Now?
Let's examine what BlueMail does to promote itself
Just What LINUX.COM Needed After Over a Month of Inactivity: SPAM SPAM SPAM (Linux Brand as a Spamfarm)
It's not even about Linux
Microsoft “Discriminated Based on Sexuality”
Relevant, as they love lecturing us on "diversity" and "inclusion"...
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, November 28, 2023
IRC logs for Tuesday, November 28, 2023