Sun’s open-source chief rallies behind GPLv3

On a company blog, Simon Phipps said that existing work towards GPLv3 had been “extraordinary and effective” and that he is “frankly amazed by the criticisms.”

Phipps’ comments may be surprising, given Sun’s decision last month to release Java under version 2 of the GPL, which governs Linux and many other open-source products. They are also noticeable because of Phipps’ senior position at a commercial software vendor.

“Sun has been engaged directly in the GPLv3 process since it started…and we continue to take a close and positive interest in the proceedings. My personal view is that the GPLv3 process has been extraordinary and effective so far in taking a somewhat partisan initial draft and evolving it into a solid license,” Phipps wrote in the blog entry last week.

C|Net