GPL 3.0 released with anti-TiVo provisions

Today marks the release of GPL version 3.0, the first update to the free software license in 15 years. The GPL is the license Linux operating systems are released under and focuses on freely available code you can modify. Every TiVo has been built on a basic Linux kernel but the new version of the license may be at odds with how TiVo uses Linux.

The new version of the GPL includes a provision to prevent "TiVoization" which means you can download TiVo's open source code and modify at will, but you can't run it on your TiVo due to security keys and digital rights software.

Back in April, TiVo filed a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission warning that the upcoming GPL v3 could harm their business. With the new version out today, it's still too early to tell if TiVo can continue releasing their software under the v2.0 license or if they will be forced to move to the new version and provide a way for developers to circumvent any security or copy-protection limits.

Comments

[Dave]

Erm, even if all the kernel developers agree to switch to the v3 license, that just means that tivo can't use any new versions of the kernel released under that license. They could still make changes to the versions that were released under v2, as long as they release their changes under v2 as well.

[MegaZone]

It is not too early to tell - the answer is no, they won't be.

1. The GPL v3 does not apply to Linux at this time, period. Linux is licensed under the GPL v2 ONLY. v3 only becomes an issue if and when Linux Torvalds decides to migrate the kernel to v3. Right now that is a *huge* if - because he's on record as being unhappy with the provisions in v3.

On top of that, even if he decides to do it, it will be a holy mess that will take a long time to sort out. Literally thousands of contributors will need to be tracked down to agree to re-license their contributions under GPLv3. If anyone cannot be located or refuses, then their code will need to be replaced with new code.

2. The license is perpetual. Any code licensed under the GPL v2 today will remain under the GPL v2 *forever*. It *cannot* be revoked. The code can be *additionally* licensed under another license, like the v3, but that doesn't change v2. So TiVo can continue to use v2 code indefinitely. Since they depend on a relatively small pool of the kernel code, that's completely viable. TiVo could continue to evolve the v2 code too - that's the beauty of open source.

3. Now, *if* the kernel goes v3 *and* something happens to prevent TiVo from continuing to use the v2 code - that still doesn't force them to use v3. They could replace the Linux kernel with something else - FreeBSD for example. The BSD Unix variants are licensed under the Berkeley license, which is quite favorable to TiVo-style usage. And then there are the commercial embedded kernels like VxWorks.

In other words, there is nothing at all that can *force* TiVo onto the GPL v3 license. It will always be a choice for them to make if and when they want to. And right now they aren't even faced with such a choice, and probably won't be for a while. Even if Linus decided *today* to migrate the kernel, it would probably take months - perhaps many months - to herd all the cats and replace the inevitable code that can't be migrated. And even when that's all done, TiVo could take the last v2 release and continue using that for a long time - they're not exactly bleeding edge on their Linux kernel as it is.

[blasdelf]

I'm surprised at you, mathowie! Usually you aren't this off your game.

The Linux kernel is not likely to be GPLv3 for quite some time. TiVO doesn't *actually need* any newer kernel stuff, even if it does migrate. Linux is _very_ mature, and all the new features that have come out in the last few years have quite little to do with their business.

[John Handelaar]

It's true that the kernel's staying with v2 for the time being, but Megazone is *completely* incorrect about relicensing. The GPL says that a work can be redistributed under the same or any later version of the GPL.

[Dennis]

John -

MZ's not wrong. Linus' contributions, at least, are specifically released under GPLv2, not just "GPL" or "GPLv2 or any future version".

Relicensing of the Linux kernel is hardly a settled matter.