Brawli Kun (Bradyy M. Kuhn), the founder of the human rights organization Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) and former director Richard Fontana (Richard Fontana), a key author of the GPLV3 license announced the resumption of work on the license copyleft-next. This project started in 2012 as GPL.next but was abandoned in 2016. The goal is to enhance the 18-year-old GPLV3 license, considering modern needs of corporations involved in free projects.
The Copyleft-next license is based on GPLV3 but with fewer restrictions, improving compatibility with permissive licenses like Apache. It has been simplified for better understanding, removing unnecessary elements like SPI fund policies and application procedures. An innovation in this license is the “Copyleft Sunset” clause, making compliance requirements optional after 15 years.
An unusual feature is the suspension of Copyleft Protection if a project is double-licensed commercially. This means, if a project is also available under a commercial license or contradicting OSI and SPI conditions, certain Copyleft-Next provisions cease to apply in the free version.
Additionally, Copyleft-Next allows for license review in case of violations like starting distribution of derivative products without providing source code access. There is a 13-day window to rectify the violation. The license also covers individuals initiating patent violation lawsuits against projects under Copyleft-Next.