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  in 1989 (“GPLv1”); Version 2, in 1991 (“GPLv2”); and Version 3, in 2007 (“GPLv3”). The various versions of the GPL do not displace or supersede one another, and authors of FOSS works may select earlier versions of the GPL if those versions better reflect their intent.

Although a FOSS author’s use of the GPL effectively places the software into the commons, thereby making it available for copying and modification, GPL-licensed software is not in the public domain. Rather, all GPL-licensed software is copyrighted. The Preamble of GPLv3 includes