There's an interesting article linked from places like Linux Devices and Linux Watch on the whole GPL v2 / GPL v3 thing.

I haven't been able to read it in any great depth - too many other things are sapping my concentration - but it seems a worthwhile read. I'll no doubt come back to it later.
But it reminded my of something I wondered about a while ago: Namely, if software companies had had more faith in copyright in the early days, would GNU or Linux ever have happened?

Here's the basis for the speculation:

In 1980, Stallman and some other hackers at the AI Lab were refused the software's source code for the Xerox 9700 laser printer (code-named "Dover"), the industry's first. Stallman had modified the software on an older printer (the XGP, Xerographic Printer), so it electronically messaged a user when the person's job was printed, and would message all logged-in users when a printer was jammed. Not being able to add this feature to the Dover printer was a major inconvenience, as the printer was on a different floor from most of the users. This one experience convinced Stallman of the ethical need to require free software.

The whole FOSS ethic as we know it was kicked off by this event: Stallman couldn't edit the software, so he opted to start a crusade for freely available and editable software. The GNU utilities were a direct result.

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