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SubjectRE: Reiserfs licencing - possible GPL conflict?
On Tue, 9 Nov 1999, David Schwartz wrote:

> > you may not integrate it
> > into any kernel (or if not added to a kernel, into any software
> > system) which is not also a GPL kernel (software system)
>
> This is already prohibited by the GPL. In fact, most of the
> difference between GPL software and PD software is that GPL software
> may not be integrated with non-GPL software.

No. GPL software may not be integrated with non-GPL-compatible software.
That's a significant difference, when the no-ads BSD licence and the MIT
licence are both GPL compatible.

> I read it again, it says that it's distributed under the GPL,
> and he's willing to sell exceptions to allow it to be integrated with
> proprietary kernels.

It's distributed under the GPL with one extra restriction. Which means
that it's not under the GPL at all. The issue is not that selling GPL
exceptions is bad. It's that Hans doesn't not believe that the GPL offers
his enough protection, because it doesn't prevent anybody from linking it
with, for example, a proprietary fork of FreeBSD (the code of which /is/
GPL compatible).

The licence doesn't stop anybody from using it in GPL-compatible userspace
works either. What if someone make a database or news server in userspace
from the code..

Matthew.


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