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SugarCRM adopts GPLv3
Raven Zachary, July 25, 2007 @ 2:06 pm ETWhile MySQL AB CEO Mickos is in no hurry to adopt the GPLv3 (see blog post), SugarCRM just announced (press release) at OSBC 2007 that it would adopting the GPLv3 as a replacement to its Sugar Public License, a variant of the Mozilla Public License with an attribution clause. This change applies the company’s release of Sugar Community Edition 5.0 and future releases. Does this mean that SugarCRM is abandoning the attribution clause within the new license? Nope. The GPLv3 allows for the inclusion of an attribution clause in the appendices.
Why would SugarCRM pursue this move? It may see this move as an opportuity to align itself more closely with Open Souce Initiative (OSI). SugarCRM has been taking a fair amount of heat from members of the open source community (including OSI Board Member Michael Tiemann, who works at Red Hat) over its use of the term ‘open source’ and its requirement for attribution. This may seem like a contradiction, as SugarCRM intends to keep the attribution clause in place. However, Mozilla+Attribution ala the Sugar Public License is not blessed by the OSI, while the GPLv3 will be.
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