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GPLv3 Slow on the Uptake

Open source projects aren't flocking to the new license

By Alex Handy

September 25, 2007 — Evans Data today released the results of a study measuring the uptake of GPLv3 in the open source community. The survey showed that the majority of projects and users surveyed haven't made the move to GPLv3, and that they're not likely to do so anytime soon. The survey showed that only 6 percent of open source projects have made the switch, and that 43 percent of those interviewed have no plans to ever move to the license.

John Andrews, president and CEO of Evans, said that he and his team were not surprised by the results of this survey, which contacted almost 400 open source developers. He said that the new restrictions imposed by GPLv3 make it difficult for developers to commit to a shift, and introduce new hurdles that could get in the way of adoption and development.

“GPLv3 is controversial because it imposes restrictions on what you can do with programs implemented under this license,” said Andrews. “Developers are confused and divided about those restrictions, with fairly equal numbers agreeing with the restrictions, disagreeing with them, or thinking they will be unenforceable.”

Palamida, a software company that addresses licensing issues in the enterprise, has been tracking GPLv3 and LGPLv3 movement since the license was finalized in July. According to its numbers, about 750 projects have moved to these two licenses. Among those are GNU Emacs and numerous smaller projects that are typically focused on the consumer or small developer.

Bernard Golden, author of the book “Succeeding with Open Source,” said that the primary reason he expects developers aren't adopting GPLv3 can be explained with a simple clich?: “If it's not broke, why fix it? For many [open source developers,] they feel they're getting what they need from GPLv2.”

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