The first discussion draft of the new license will be introduced Jan. 16 at the International Public Conference for GPLv3 at MIT. The FSF will then seek comments from the open-source community to further tweak the GPLv3's language and contents. A second discussion draft is expected by next summer, with a final draft ready by the fall.

Once it's adopted, GPLv3 will be available to developers and software users for future applications, as well as for use with older applications if allowed under their licensing agreements.

Eric S. Raymond, president of the nonprofit Open Source Initiative and a well-known open-source advocate, said he hopes the revised GPL will drop excess wording no longer needed. "Maybe the most important thing they can do is shorten it," he said. "It's pretty verbose."

One example, Raymond said, is the included "how to apply these terms" section, which spells out how the GPL should be viewed. That entire section can be deleted today, he said, because now everyone knows what the GPL is all about.

In a 22-page document outlining the upcoming review process, the FSF and the SFLC detail the steps to be taken during the revisions. "The FSF plans to decide the contents of version 3 of the GPL through the fullest possible discussion with the most diverse possible community of drafters and users," the document said. "A major goal is to identify every issue effecting every user, and to resolve those issues. For these reasons, the process of GPL revision will be a time of self-examination."