Upgrade to GPL 3 for Koha 3.4 - 150 word advocacy

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This page is reserved only for an 150 word summary advocating GPL 3, invoked with an or later version option, for Koha 3.4. The summary is part of a ballot process for inclusion in a ballot on the question of upgrading the Koha copyright license.

Please use the Upgrade to GPL 3 for Koha 3.4 - Advocacy wiki page for more detailed advocacy linked from the summary.

Please use the Koha GPL 3 option wiki page or the Koha mailing list for open comment.

Upgrade to the GNU General Public License version 3 (GPL 3), invoked with an or later version option, as the copyright license for Koha 3.4 - advocacy

Summary (150 words at most)

  • A lengthy open, even if imperfect, comment period for multiple drafts before the license was finalised.
  • Substantially the same copyleft license as GPL 2 with protection for users over issues identified subsequent to the 1991 publication of GPL 2 and greater clarity of language.
  • Greater international legal compatibility for terminology and aspects of software copyright law.
  • Greater compatibility with other free software licenses allowing more code from other projects to enhance Koha. Compatibility includes GPL 2, invoked with an or later version option; code from newer projects using GPL 3 and LGPL3; and greater compatibility with other non-GPL free software licenses.
  • Attribution rights for contributing authors even when not copyright holders.
  • Other protections including greater protection from aggressive use of patents, controlled by modifiers and conveyors of the software, covering some aspect of the software functionality.
  • Still upgradable.

See http://wiki.koha-community.org/wiki/Upgrade_to_GPL_3_for_Koha_3.4_-_Advocacy for more detail.