Software Licensing
GPL
GNU General Public License
The most widely used copyleft license, requiring that anyone distributing GPL-licensed software (or software derived from it) must make the source code available under the same GPL terms. GPL v2 and v3 differ on patent grants and anti-tivoization provisions. In M&A diligence, GPL components in a proprietary product are a red flag that requires careful analysis of how the component is linked and distributed.