Messages in this thread | | | Subject | Re: GPL Violation? | From | Arjan van de Ven <> | Date | Thu, 17 Aug 2006 08:54:16 +0200 |
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On Thu, 2006-08-17 at 02:42 -0400, Patrick McFarland wrote: > On Thursday 17 August 2006 01:48, Anonymous User wrote: > > I work for a company that will be developing an embedded Linux based > > consumer electronic device. > > > > I believe that new kernel modules will be written to support I/O > > peripherals and perhaps other things. I don't know the details right > > now. What I am trying to do is get an idea of what requirements there > > are to make the source code available under the GPL. > > I am not a lawyer, and I suggest your company speak with one before doing > this. (And most likely, someone from the list will correct me if I get > something wrong). > > However, your company only has to release any code they use, preferably in the > form of unmodified tarballs (pointing to project websites for downloads isn't > valid anymore) plus patches against said unmodified tarballs if modified. If > not modified, you still have to release the unmodified tarballs. > > They don't have to release source code for any module you wrote from scratch > themselves, but said modules cannot say they are GPL (ie, they have to poison > the kernel).
Just as a warning: This is your own legal opinion/advice, one which is apparently not shared with many other kernel developers, including me. For example see Greg's OLS keynote: http://www.kroah.com/log/2006/07/23/#ols_2006_keynote or some of Linus' emails on this topic: http://cvs.fedora.redhat.com/viewcvs/*checkout*/rpms/kernel/devel/COPYING.modules?rev=1.5
I hope you have talked to a lawyer about your advice, but I sort of doubt it since your answer doesn't sound like something a lawyer will tell you (it sure doesn't match what the various lawyers I talked to told me, not at all)
Anyway the best advice for anyone who asks such a question is to go talk to a lawyer, and probably he should take a few of those links printed out with him just to alert the lawyer about the controversial nature of things.
Greetings, Arjan van de Ven -- if you want to mail me at work (you don't), use arjan (at) linux.intel.com
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