Re: GPLv3 comedy unfolding -- A veteran IP attorney off the record

[Alexander Terekhov]

quoted by Dan Lyons:

http://floatingpoint.wordpress.com/2006/10/16/off-the-record/

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“People find the GPL very hard to understand. It’s not written in a
style that is a typical license style. Licensing lawyers write in a
particular style because it’s precise. It’s hard to understand but if
you sit down and concentrate you are supposed to be able to understand
it. The GPL is written in a style that is supposed to be a lay person’s
style But lay people have a really hard time understanding it. The GPL
was not really written in a way that a lawyer would write it, meaning
it’s not precise. People have a great deal of difficulty understanding
what it says. GPLv3 is even more of a mix of legal language and
non-legal language. It’s not making things simpler. To be candid, in
writing it in such an unclear fashion they’re creating a lot of work for
people like me. People in the business community don’t understand it at
all. They are used to reading legal licenses. I get calls from licensing
lawyers, saying, `Gee, I read this license and I don’t know what it
means.’ I say, `Are you talking about the GPL?’ They say, `Yeah, have
you read this thing?’ I say, `It’s okay, nobody understands this thing.’
And that’s the GPLv2. The GPLv3 is even worse.”
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regards,
alexander.