lkml.org 
[lkml]   [2006]   [Feb]   [6]   [last100]   RSS Feed
Views: [wrap][no wrap]   [headers]  [forward] 
 
Messages in this thread
    /
    From
    SubjectRe: GPL V3 and Linux - Dead Copyright Holders
    Date
    On Feb 06, 2006, at 16:07, David Schwartz wrote:
    >> The LGPL deals with only derivative works. The GPL also deals with
    >> mere *linking*. If glibc were GPL'd, it would be illegal to make
    >> an OS based on it with a single C program incompatible with the GPL.
    >
    > The only way the GPL can control work Y because it affects work Z
    > is because Y is a derivative work of work Z. If it's not, then the
    > works are legally unrelated, and no matter what the GPL says, it
    > can't affect work Y.

    To say this more simplistically, the LGPL essentially says "Even if
    dynamic linking constitutes making a derivative work, we allow you to
    dynamically link, so long as the rules are followed for the LGPL code
    to which you link". The GPL essentially says "If dynamic linking is
    making a derivative work, then these rules apply to the whole
    derivative work and all of its constituent parts".

    Whether or not an NVidia binary module is a derivative work is left
    up to the courts to decide. It _may_ be legal (don't trust me,
    consult your lawyer) to have a very simple cross-platform interface
    and some BSD-licensed glue. On the other hand, if your interface
    derives from or exposes any kind of kernel-internals, then it is most
    certainly a derivative work (because you can't argue that the binary
    interface was written to be independent of Linux, and it therefore
    falls under the GPL.

    Cheers,
    Kyle Moffett

    --
    Unix was not designed to stop people from doing stupid things,
    because that would also stop them from doing clever things.
    -- Doug Gwyn


    -
    To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
    the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
    More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
    Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/

    \
     
     \ /
      Last update: 2006-02-06 23:41    [W:4.136 / U:0.000 seconds]
    ©2003-2020 Jasper Spaans|hosted at Digital Ocean and TransIP|Read the blog|Advertise on this site