[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:  closed 
 Priority:  highest omg bbq  |    Milestone:         
Component:  General          |      Version:  3.0.1  
 Severity:  blocker          |   Resolution:  invalid
 Keywords:                   |  
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Changes (by markjaquith):

  * status:  reopened => closed
  * resolution:  => invalid
  * milestone:  3.0.2 =>


Comment:

 Self-replying:

 > That is not a licensing change, because the license has always specified
 GPL version 2

 I'm going to back off this statement for now. Let me explain:

 It has been our stance that we cannot guarantee "or any later version" GPL
 licensing for WordPress as a whole, and that in order to license WordPress
 completely under the GPL version 3, it would require the consent of all
 copyright holders. It's a bit historically murky, as there are b2 and
 early-WP references to GPL v2 as well as just GPL and GPL v2 or any later
 version. GPL v2 seemed like the one we could absolutely guarantee was
 valid to use, as it was specifically mentioned, and that was the license
 that has always been included in both b2 and WordPress.

 But Denis has a point: just because it's valid to use doesn't necessarily
 mean that it's the only version of the license that is valid to use. It's
 just the one we '''know''' you can use. The reality is that there are
 conflicting statements about the version of the GPL that b2/WordPress were
 intended to use. It's safe to use WordPress under the terms of the GPL
 version 2, but other versions are an open question.

 I'll chat with some of the other leads and core contributors about this.
 Trust me when I say that I care deeply about finding the right answer
 — one which respects the contributions of the WordPress copyright holders.

 But Trac isn't the right place for that conversation — this is for fixing
 and developing WordPress, not licensing discussions.

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Ticket URL: <http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/14685#comment:29>
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