% Brief Introduction to the GNU General Public License
% Bradley M. Kuhn
% Monday 24 March 2014
# Audience Polls
+ My goal here is to move faster or slower based on audience knowledge.
+ There are folks in this audience who have worked with this stuff for years,
and those who are completely new.
+ We want these presentations to be valuable to all of you.
+ Please, don't be embarrassed:
+ Ever GPL expert in the world, including me, started as a student who
knew none of this.
# IANAL
<cite>IANAL</cite>
# My Affiliations
+ Formerly had John's job, Executive Director of FSF, years ago.
+ Currently: on Board of Directors of FSF.
+ President of Software Freedom Conservancy.
# How These Orgs Relate to GPL?
+ FSF
+ Invented copyleft.
+ Authors & stewards of the GPL.
+ Holder of copyrights on many key GNU programs …
+ … and therefore enforcers of those copyrights.
+ Software Freedom Conservancy
+ Adviser on legal issues of copyright, etc. to Free Software projects.
+ Holder of some copyrights on its member projects.
+ Enforcer of GPL on behalf of many copyright holders in:
+ BusyBox, Samba, Mercurial, and the kernel named Linux.
# How this Hour Will Go?
+ Materials presented will mix the simple & complex.
+ We cannot possibly cover the entire GPL in one hour.
+ Discuss: motivations, origins, then a few of GPL's sections.
+ I understand the mix of backgrounds in the audience.
# A Restaurant's Lawyer?
+ Considering why you want to learn this.
+ What if your client was a restaurant?
+ What would you want to need to know?
# Restaurant Lawyer: What'd You Study?
+ If you were a restaurant's lawyer: