[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #14685: Copyright Notice Tainted

[WordPress Trac]

#14685: Copyright Notice Tainted
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 Reporter:  hakre            |        Owner:          
     Type:  defect (bug)     |       Status:  reopened
 Priority:  highest omg bbq  |    Milestone:  3.0.2   
Component:  General          |      Version:  3.0.1   
 Severity:  blocker          |   Resolution:          
 Keywords:  has-patch        |  
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Comment(by markjaquith):

 I'm going to revert. Here's my reasoning:

 b2 stated that its license was "GPL." No version specified. WordPress has
 always (until recently) stated that its license is "GPL." No version
 specified.

 The fact that version 2 of the license is included does not mean that the
 code is '''only''' available under version 2, as the license (version 2,
 as well as 1 and 3) says that if no version is stated, the code is
 available under any published version of the GPL.

 Later, some code was introduced that was licensed under the GPL version 2
 (i.e. "only"). Some code was introduced that was licensed under the GPL
 version 2 or any later version. So while WordPress '''as a whole''' cannot
 currently be redistributed under the GPL versions 1 or 3, that does not
 change the fact that the code that does not have a version-specific GPL
 applied to it can be presumed to be released under the GPL, generally (any
 version).

 As such, we can't change the license of that code. It has to be just
 "GPL." Whether we should say that WordPress is GPL, generally, but certain
 portions are GPL version 2 (only) and some portions are GPL version 2 or
 any later version is uncertain. Rolling back is the first step, in any
 case. According to the GNU FAQ, it's fine to combine the code as we have,
 with the caveat: "If you do this, as long as the project contains the code
 released under GPLv2 only, you will not be able to upgrade the project's
 license to GPLv3 or later."

 It wouldn't take much work to contact the authors of the code that is
 specifically marked GPL v2 only. Doing so would give people the ability to
 use WordPress under the terms of the GPL version 3 (or any version 2 or
 higher). With a little more work, we could get the "GPL v2 or higher" code
 licensed as simply GPL. One could make an argument that the licensing of
 that code as "GPL v2" or "GPL v2 or later" was erroneous, but I'd rather
 contact the authors, just to be certain.

 As long as we have a mix of "GPL" code and "GPL v2" code and "GPL v2 or
 later" code, the only license that applies to every part of WordPress is
 version 2, as it is the only one that fits all three of the licenses. But
 that doesn't change the fact that the majority of WordPress code is GPL in
 in general, not GPLv2, and we can't change the license on that code
 without permission from relevant copyright holders.

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Ticket URL: <http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/14685#comment:39>
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