On Mon, Jun 15, 2026 at 08:29:49PM -0500, Jeremy Stanley wrote:
>
> Not to get pedantic, but if you *only* find a GPL-3 full text document in a
> repo without any indication in individual files as to how it applies to
> them, it may be entirely irrelevant anyway. As with a majority of popular
> free/libre open source licenses I've used, the instructions for applying it
> include indicators in the affected files. See
> https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-howto.html where it states that you should
> "Give each file the proper copyright notices. Make sure to clearly identify
> which versions of the license users can use."
It is amazing to me how many people are playing armchair lawyer on this thread.
It is what the GPL HOWTO states, yes. Whether that is necessary from
a legal perspective depends on the legal jourisdiction and is a matter
of legal advice. Most of us on the thread are not lawyers, and more
importantly, even if we are lawyers, we are not *your* lawyer.
Having attended a number of Linux Foundation Legal Summits, which
gathers together general counsels from many of the top lawyers in the
field, and having received specific guidance from my company's Open
Source Office, whose guidance was informed by my company's lawyers, I
will state that this is not my current practice, regardless of the FSF
might suggest in their GPL HOWTO.
Best regards,
- Ted
