Bradley M. Kuhn, founder of the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) and former director of the Free Software Foundation, and Richard Fontana, one of the three key authors of the GPLv3 license (the other two being Richard Stallman and Eben Moglen) and former director of the Open Source Initiative (OSI), announced the resumption of work on the Copyleft-next license. The development of the new license began in 2012 under the name GPL.next, but the project languished since 2016.
The goal of the project is to develop a next-generation copyleft license to replace the GPLv3 license, taking into account the current realities and needs of corporations developing free projects. It is noted that the GPLv3 license is now 18 years old, and the GPLv2 is 34 years old, highlighting a growing demand in the community for a revision of the rigid copyleft application.
The text of the Copyleft-next license is based on the GPLv3 license, stripped of unnecessary complexities and limitations, which improves compatibility with permissive licenses and achieves portability with projects under the Apache license. The license has been significantly shortened and simplified for better understanding (for example, the introduction containing the policy of the Free Software Foundation, the appendix with explanations of application, and references to redundant and outdated compromises have been removed).
One of the principal differences from existing copyleft licenses is the "Copyleft Sunset" provision, which cancels the copyleft compliance requirements 15 years after the first publication of a work under the Copyleft-next license. Specifically, after 15 years, the license reverts to a permissive status, as clauses 3-5 regarding the distribution of derivative products under the Copyleft-next license, the prohibition on imposing additional restrictions, and the mandatory availability of source code when distributing binary builds cease to apply.
Another atypical innovation is the nullification of copyleft protection when a project is double-licensed — under the Copyleft-next license and a proprietary license. If a product is also provided under a proprietary license or under terms that contradict the criteria of the OSI or the Free Software Foundation, the copyleft protection clauses (3-5) cease to apply in the free version of the product, turning the license into a permissive one.
Among the features of Copyleft-next, it is worth noting the revocation of the license in case of violation of the terms of use (for example, if distribution of a derived product begins without providing access to the source code). A period of 13 days is given to correct the violation. The license is also revoked from individuals who have initiated legal action for patent infringement (except for counterclaims) that intersects with the project under the Copyleft-next license.
Source: opennet.ru
