Vitalik Buterin has shared that he supports “copyleft” licensing, which requires anyone who uses shared code to also make their own changes public.
The Ethereum
Buterin explained that he used to prefer “permissive” licenses, which let anyone reuse and modify code freely without having to share what they build. Over time, he came to see the limits of that approach.
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In contrast, “copyleft” licenses allow people to use and modify code as they like, but only if they also release their own modifications under the same terms.
He wrote that while he still dislikes copyright and patents, he sees a need for stronger incentives to keep developers from locking their work away.
According to Buterin, open-source software has gone mainstream, and it is no longer enough to count on people sharing voluntarily. He said it is more realistic to make code access conditional on giving back to the community.
He acknowledged that “copyleft” can feel restrictive in some situations. For example, when someone uses code only internally and never releases it, being forced to publish it anyway might seem unnecessary.
Recently, Buterin and Toni Wahrstätter introduced a proposal known as EIP-7983. What does it cover? Read the full story.
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