pyorbital Relicense to Apache Version 2

Overview

The maintainers of this project and some leading members of the Pytroll organization would like to re-license the pyorbital Python package. We would like to first ask for opinions and permission from existing contributors of the project before making this change official. The software source code would change from a GPL Version 3.0 or Later license to an Apache Version 2 license. A simple non-exhaustive summary of these licenses and their differences can be found at the following URLs along with the full text of the license:

https://www.tldrlegal.com/license/gnu-general-public-license-v3-gpl-3

https://www.tldrlegal.com/license/apache-license-2-0-apache-2-0

Purpose

By moving away from the current GPLv3 license to a more permissive license we hope to encourage more collaboration. We also hope this opens the doors for more funding opportunities as some grants have explicitly not funded non-permissive/copyleft licenses like GPLv3.

This re-licensing does not change any understanding or assignment of copyright for this project. Copyright notices will remain with the collective "pyorbital developers" identifier.

Why not license X?

The Apache Version 2 license was chosen because it is a permissive and open license like the MIT or BSDv3 licenses. It has the additional requirement that any modified files must "carry prominent notices" stating that changes were made to the original work. Lastly, Apache Version 2 is a very popular license even if other licenses may provide similar permissions and restrictions.

What do we want from you (an existing contributor)?

Please comment on this GitHub issue or contact a project maintainer (see contributor list below) with your approval (ex. "I approve") or disapproval (ex. "I do not approve") or other feedback about this planned re-licensing. We can contact contributors by email if necessary or requested.