How does the “any later version” clause change when GPL version 3 is released?
For argument’s sake, let us say a distributor ships GNU software to me on a platform that needs an authorization key to run a modified version. (The first example that comes to mind is the TiVo.) When Version 3 is released, it will change the definition of “Corresponding Source” to include the authorization codes to run modified versions. As a user, I cannot demand that TiVo give me the authorization codes if they ship software that was released under the “GPLv2 or later” license. It “would be totally evil,” Richard Stallman said, for a Free Software license to create new requirements for TiVo as time goes on. TiVo chose to distribute the code under GPLv2, and so they are not bound by the new requirement. When GPLv3 is released, new versions of GNU software will be released under GPLv3 “or any later version”, and at that point TiVo will have to accept the GPLv3 terms if they choose to use new GNU software.
Related Questions
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- How does the "any later version" clause change when GPL version 3 is released?
