[comp.emacs] New version of GPL--please comment

rms@gnu.ai.mit.edu (Richard Stallman) (03/24/91)

I'm planning to release a new version of the ordinary GPL soon.  I'd
like to get comments first, so here is the latest draft.  **This is
not the planned Library GPL**; it is intended for programs like Emacs
and GCC, not for libraries.

This is not supposed to change the spirit and philosophy of the GPL,
just to clean up minor problems.  So please mention anything here that
you find unclear or ambiguous.  If you see consequences that you think
I might not be aware of, please tell me.  If you see ways that small
changes could avoid problems, please tell me that too.


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		    GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
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 Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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		    GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
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		     END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS

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	Appendix: How to Apply These Terms to Your New Programs

  If you develop a new program, and you want it to be of the greatest
possible use to the public, the best way to achieve this is to make it
free software which everyone can redistribute and change under these
terms.

  To do so, attach the following notices to the program.  It is safest to
attach them to the start of each source file to most effectively convey
the exclusion of warranty; and each file should have at least the
copyright" line and a pointer to where the full notice is found.

    <one line to give the program's name and a brief idea of what it does.>
    Copyright (C) 19yy  <name of author>

    This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
    the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
    (at your option) any later version.

    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
    GNU General Public License for more details.

    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
    along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
    Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Also add information on how to contact you by electronic and paper mail.

If the program is interactive, make it output a short notice like this
when it starts in an interactive mode:

    Gnomovision version 69, Copyright (C) 19xx name of author
    Gnomovision comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details type `show w'.
    This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it
    under certain conditions; type `show c' for details.

The hypothetical commands `show w' and `show c' should show the
appropriate parts of the General Public License.  Of course, the
commands you use may be called something other than `show w' and `show
c'; they could even be mouse-clicks or menu items--whatever suits your
program.

You should also get your employer (if you work as a programmer) or your
school, if any, to sign a "copyright disclaimer" for the program, if
necessary.  Here is a sample; alter the names:

  Yoyodyne, Inc., hereby disclaims all copyright interest in the
  program `Gnomovision' (a program to direct compilers to make passes
  at assemblers) written by James Hacker.

  <signature of Ty Coon>, 1 April 1989
  Ty Coon, President of Vice

That's all there is to it!

This General Public License does not permit anyone to incorporate the
programs it covers into proprietary products.  If your program is a
subroutine library, you may consider it more useful to permit its use
in such products, on the idea that more software developers will use
and extend it on that basis.  If this is what you want to do, use the
GNU Library General Public License instead of this License.