X.Org To Consider Merger With SPI

Should the X.Org Foundation go ahead and be merged into a larger organization, they have their eyes on SPI.

SPI, Software in the Public Interest, is a non-profit about helping organizations work on open hardware and open software designs. SPI encourages the use of the GPL and has been a non-profit since 1997.

Projects that have been part of the SPI include LibreOffice, OpenWRT, FreedomBox, Arch Linux, PostgreSQL, MinGW, FFmpeg, 0 AD, HeliOS, FreeDesktop.org, and Haskell.org. The X.Org Foundation board voted this week at XDC2013 and found SPI was a better fit for a parent organization than the Software Freedom Conservancy, the other organization they've been considering.

For those wanting to hear the back story on why the X.Org Foundation -- which stewards the X.Org Server, Mesa, and Wayland -- is considering merging with a larger organization, read X.Org Foundation Loses Its 501(c)(3) Status.

While they selected SPI as their suitor, the X.Org Foundation Board of Directors hasn't decided if any merger will happen yet and they still need to talk to their by-laws and communicate with their representatives at the Software Freedom Law Center. The board is also still trying to figure out if the X.Org Foundation even has copyright of X.Org right now if it was ever transferred to them from The Open Group some time ago.

Some temporary good news from this week's board meeting is that they have at least been able to get their 501(c)(3) reinstated by the Software Freedom Law Center representatives, but there's more paperwork ahead for them.