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An Acronym for GeneralPublicLicense.

The General Public License (GPL) is published by the Free Software Foundation and is intended to guarantee every user the freedom to run, study, adapt, improve, and redistribute the software that it covers.

RichardStallman wrote the version 1 and 2 of the GNU GPL. Version 1 was released in 1989, and version 2 in 1991.

Version 3 of the GPL was released on 29 June 2007. This version strengthens this guarantee, by ensuring that users can modify the free software on their personal and household devices, and granting patent licenses to every user. It also extends compatibility with other free software licenses and increases international uniformity.

http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html