Why Linus Torvalds doesn't like GPLv3

Linus Torvalds, creator of the most famous GPL software project ever, has stated on several occasions that the Linux kernel will never be released under GPLv3, the next version of the GNU General Public License currently under development. NewsForge has rounded up a couple of Torvalds' posts to the Linux Kernel Mailing List in which he describes some of his objections to the new version of the license. He takes issue with GPLv3's new restrictions on DRM and the digital signing of code. Torvalds believes that fighting DRM should not be the GPL's mission and that that battle should be fought by content producers. "The GPL already does have an anti-DRM clause as far as the software is concerned," says Torvalds. "If you want to fight DRM on non-software fronts, you need to create non-software content, and fight it there." He concludes by saying, "I'm not arguing against the GPLv3. I'm arguing that the GPLv3 is wrong for me, and it's not the license I ever chose."

Tags: drm, gpl, gplv3, Linus Torvalds, linux, newsforge, opensource