Richard:
This has caused some confusion for some modules (such as the GNOME gconf-editor, gnome-settings-daemon, gnome-media-apps, and gphoto modules). These programs are licensed under GPLv2 (or later). But since these modules didn't have a COPYING file, now they have a GPLv3 COPYING file due to this default automake behavior. So now there is some confusion about whether these modules are really GPLv2 or GPLv3.
Note, we just discovered the gnome-games module also has the same problem.
They ought to have a COPYING file. Why not fix these packages to have the COPYING file that is appropriate for them?
Agreed, modules should have a COPYING file. We are working with the maintainers to fix the problems. However, some of the modules are not very actively maintained, so it is turning into a little bit of a headache to get this corrected. Sun has happened to catch issues with GNU modules that are shipped with Solaris, but I'd imagine there are plenty of additional modules that have similar issues.
However, it occurs to me that Automake could warn about the lack rather than supply one. Or it could ask what to do in this case.
It does seem that automake could have a nicer way of encouraging or enforcing users to follow the GNU Coding Standard than by choosing a particular license for you. Really, I think we should be encouraging authors to pick their licenses with reasonable consideration. Brian