The Free Software Foundation urgently needs to <A HREF="http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6117785.html?tag=nl.r23660">explain how software governed by the current General Public License</A> will interact with that governed by a successor now under development, the leader of the Open Source Development Labs said Wednesday. The General Public License governs innumerable projects in the open-source and free-software realms. The most notable example is the Linux kernel, but it also covers major projects such as the GCC compiler, the Samba file server software, and the MySQL database. GPL version 2 was published in 1991, and the foundation is drafting a successor to tackle new issues such as software patents and digital rights management.