Free Software Foundation—FSF updated community-oriented GPL enforcement principles prioritizing compliance over litigation
In late 2022, the FSF in conjunction with the Software Freedom Conservancy released an updated report on its Principles of Community-Oriented GPL Enforcement. The principles establish that the FSF's primary goal in GPL enforcement is to bring about compliance, with legal action as a last resort. Compliance actions are primarily education and assistance processes to aid those not following the license. The FSF also updated its bylaws to require 66% board approval for any new GPL versions, strengthening stewardship of the license that underpins the free software ecosystem.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Source | +toward | primary | +1.00 |
| Open Source Licensing Integrity | +toward | primary | +1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | +0.993 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.66)
Evidence (2 signals)
FSF amended bylaws to require 66% board approval for new GPL versions
The FSF updated its bylaws so that approval by 66% of its directors is required to approve any new versions of the GNU General Public License, strengthening governance around the license that underpins much of the free software ecosystem.
FSF released updated Principles of Community-Oriented GPL Enforcement
The FSF in conjunction with the Software Freedom Conservancy released an updated report on its Principles of Community-Oriented GPL Enforcement, establishing that compliance is the primary goal with legal action as a last resort, and enforcement actions are primarily education and assistance processes.