Subject: Conservancy Adds Expanded Section To Copyleft Guide On GPLv2 Irrevocability
From: Software Freedom Conservancy <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 14:27:23 -0400
List-Id: "Announcements regarding the Software Freedom Conservancy." <announce.sfconservancy.org>

In discussion of the Linux project’s new Code of Conduct, a few people
have suggested that contributors who reject the Code of Conduct might
disrupt Linux licensing in response. This seems unlikely to most, but to
ensure that uncertainty around this issue casts no shadow over
contributions to GPLv2 works, Conservancy engaged our outside counsel,
Pamela Chestek <https://chesteklegal.com/>, to update the Copyleft and
the GNU General Public License: A Comprehensive Tutorial and Guide
<https://copyleft.org/guide/> (called the Copyleft Guide for short) on
copyleft.org <https://copyleft.org> to clarify this issue.

Copyleft.org is an initiative that fosters a collaborative community to
share and improve information about copyleft licenses (especially the
GNU General Public License (GPL)) and best compliance practices for
those licenses. It’s primary output is the Copyleft Guide, an extensive
157 page tutorial on GPL and other forms of copyleft licensing,
available as an online book <https://copyleft.org/guide/> and as a PDF
<https://copyleft.org/guide/comprehensive-gpl-guide.pdf>.

Today, a new section in the Guide
<https://copyleft.org/guide/comprehensive-gpl-guidech8.html#x11-540007.4>
explains GPLv2’s safeguards to prevent the very scenario recently
contemplated. In particular, a contributor may only modify the software
and distribute that contribution *if* they have agreed to the full text
of the GPLv2. (“By modifying or distributing the Program… you indicate
your acceptance of this License to do so, and all its terms and
conditions for copying, distributing or modifying the Program or works
based on it.”) Part of the grant from the contributor is an irrevocable
license to that person’s contribution, provided that the downstream user
complies with the conditions on the license grant. (“Parties who have
received copies, or rights, from you under this License will not have
their licenses terminated so long as such parties remain in full
compliance.”). The contributor is, of course, free to make no /future/
grants, but they can’t withdraw /past/ grants. The Guide’s new section
also explains how promissory estoppel is an additional legal safeguard
ensuring the withdrawal of permission will not disrupt the use of those
who rely on the software.

The Copyleft Guide is itself licensed under a copyleft license,
currently CC BY SA 4.0. Experts, lawyers and anyone else interested in
copyleft are welcome to help improve it, via Conservancy’s Kallithea
instance <https://k.copyleft.org/guide>, or on Github
<https://github.com/copyleft-org/copyleft-guide>.

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