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Is GNU GPL v3.0 or later compatible with GNU General Public License v3.0?

It depends.

The compatibility between GNU GPL v3.0 or later and GNU General Public License v3.0 depends on the specific clauses and the way the two are combined in your project. Have a qualified lawyer review before redistributing.

About these licenses

LicenseFamilyPatent grant
GNU GPL v3.0 or later (GPL-3.0-or-later) strong-copyleft Yes
GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0) strong-copyleft Yes

GNU GPL v3.0 or later: GPL-3.0 with explicit upgrade path; users may pick GPL-3.0 or any later GPL.

GNU General Public License v3.0: GPLv3 adds explicit patent grant + anti-tivoisation; updated copyleft language.

What to do next

If you found this page because you're trying to figure out whether shipping a particular dependency is safe, the answer above is a starting point — not a substitute for reading the actual licenses or talking to a lawyer when stakes are high.

LicenseHound walks every transitive dependency in your repo, maps each to its SPDX license, and flags pairs like this one in PR comments. The CLI is free; the team dashboard is paid.

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