GPLv3 now dominates at Google Code #oscon

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Google’s open source programs manager Chris DiBona (pic left) took the stage at OSCON today and he had some interesting things to say, about licensing.

I’ve heard DiBona speak on open source licensing several times over the years. This time his talk wasn’t about licensing specifics, but rather about adoption.

According to data presented by DiBona, the GPLv3 license now represents more than half of the GPL licensed code that Google hosts on its Google Code site.

Just to mix and match some stats here, a year ago I wrote about a Black Duck report that showed the GPLv3 still lagging behind the GPLv2. As with lots of other things, sometimes adoption is just a matter of time.

There is still a vast amount of GPLv2 code out there and I personally suspect that the Linux kernel will never move away from it. That said, what DiBona’s data shows is that developers are embracing GPLv3 and using it for their project in growing numbers.

At this point we’re three years into the GPLv3 process as Richard Stallman officially released GPLv3 on June 29, 2007. So yeah it’s about time that GPLv3 asserts itself as the dominant form of the GPL.