June 1st, 2007
GPV V3 and hardware modification
The Free Software Foundation has released its “last call” draft of GPL V3, along with a personal plea from Richard Stallman for folks to upgrade from V2. (This gadget-loving Tux was found at Computer Shopper.)
Most discussion of the new release will focus on Novell, which won clearance for its Microsoft deal “because the patent protection they arranged with Microsoft last November can be turned against Microsoft to the community’s benefit.” (Huh?)
But instead I want to relate the new draft to yesterday’s discussion of hardware. From the PDF “explanation of changes” distributed with the release:
we condition the right to convey object code in a defined class of “User Products,” under certain circumstances, on providing whatever information is required to enable a recipient to replace the object code with a functioning modified version.
In other words, you can’t put GPL V3 code in hardware, then lock it down so it can’t be replaced with something that works.
This is a perfectly reasonable demand which I guarantee will not be accepted by big manufacturers. Not without a struggle. Software today defines hardware, specifically its limitations and commercial advantage.
Cellphone companies, for instance, insist on crippling devices to force users into using their networks for moving files. I doubt they will accept this provision, and thus won’t allow such code into their phones, unless the present network cartel is broken up. An end to the cartel is something I wish for every day, but that’s another subject.
Networks aren’t the only people who see obsolescence as a feature, not a bug. I doubt they will be happy with this provision either.
Which means, again, we’re headed for a political choice. Electronic waste, in the form of obsolete products which can’t be upgraded, is a big problem. The new GPL requires a solution, and the industry will resist.
The result will be a political struggle, with the GPL on the side of the environment.
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for 30 years, a tech freelancer since 1983. You can follow Dana on Twitter. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
Subscribe to Linux and Open Source via Email alerts or RSS.
