[SLL] Save Novell!

[Glenn Stone]

On Mon, Jun 04, 2007 at 01:28:23PM -0700, Rob Smith wrote:
>so then if package X was licenced as
>GPL v2 and later
>
>then a patch could bump it to gpl v3 or the like (assuming the other
>copyright holders agree to it)
>
>where as if it was just licenced as
>GPL v2
>
>you can't just bump it, as the licence is not saying they are
>accepting future versions of the gpl.

Point.  

I gotta wonder how many people change it to where it's V2 only, though.  

>One thing that really gets projects into trouble is they don't require
>patch submitters to give the copyright to the main dev/group, and thus
>to relicence a package, it requires everyone to sign off, when some
>people are gone for years when the time comes.

That gets lots of projects in trouble, not just software.  The most common
instance of such trouble that I know of?  Movie deals.  Who wrote the book,
who's got the screenplay rights, who already wrote a screenplay, who might
have right of first refusal.... it makes the whole GPL V2/V3 brew-ha-ha look
like first grade math.  

-- Glenn