Mozilla to revise its open-source licence

Mozilla will modernise and simplify its Public Licence

Mozilla has announced plans to update the Mozilla Public Licence to ensure that it is as relevant as possible.

The company will open development of the licence to the online community, and will offer a first draft for public debate and comment in the near future.

"The spirit of the licence has served us well by helping to communicate some of the values that underpin our large and growing community. However, some of its wording may be showing its age," Mozilla said in a statement.

"Keeping both those things in mind, Mozilla is launching a process to update the licence, hoping to modernise and simplify it while still keeping the things that have made the licence and the Mozilla project such a success."

The Firefox developer said that the goal is to modernise, maintain and simplify the licence so that it is easier to understand and use.

"We do not plan to make major changes to the scope of the 'copyleft'," the firm said.

The new licence is expected to be completed by the end of this year, and any interested parties can register on a mailing list and bookmark the new Mozilla Public Licence web site for updates on the process.