The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today released the first discussion draft of the GNU Affero General Public License (GNU AGPL). This new license is based on version 3 of the GNU GPL. It has a new term to ensure that users who interact with the software over a network can receive the source for that program.

The original Affero GPL was intended to guarantee that everyone could receive the source for web applications that they used, so the software could always be shared and improved. The corresponding provision in the GNU AGPL applies this same principle to all software that interacts with users through a network, but doesn't impose additional requirements when the same code is used for other purposes. Since the GNU AGPL is based on version 3 of the GNU GPL, it will also provide improved internationalization, compatibility with the Apache License, and other benefits.

As with its other licenses, the FSF will hear feedback on the draft from the public before releasing the final version of the license. The additional provision is in the first paragraph of section 13. We ask that comments not specific to the GNU AGPL be submitted to the latest draft of GPLv3.

• Read the text of the draft (also available in plain text).
• Comment on the draft