Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S261688AbTEHPtz (ORCPT ); Thu, 8 May 2003 11:49:55 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S261707AbTEHPtz (ORCPT ); Thu, 8 May 2003 11:49:55 -0400 Received: from h-64-105-35-101.SNVACAID.covad.net ([64.105.35.101]:2714 "EHLO adam.yggdrasil.com") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S261688AbTEHPty (ORCPT ); Thu, 8 May 2003 11:49:54 -0400 Date: Thu, 8 May 2003 08:59:52 -0700 From: "Adam J. Richter" Message-Id: <200305081559.h48FxqF07117@adam.yggdrasil.com> To: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Subject: Re: Binary firmware in the kernel - licensing issues. Cc: joern@wohnheim.fh-wedel.de Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Content-Length: 1511 Lines: 30 J?rn Engel wrote: >For the kernel or the main CPU, the driver firmware is just data. The >same, as the magic 0x12345678ul that gets written to some register >because [can't tell, NDA]. In both cases, magic data gets written >somewhere and afterwards, things just work. I think you are confusing "the preferred form of the work for making modifications to it" (the GPL's definition of "source code") with "documentation." In the case of poking a few values, the preferred form for making modifications may be actually editing the numbers directly in source code. That quite likely is the way that all developers maintain and modify that code, even if doing so in an effective manner requires additional documentation. In comparison, with the binary blobs of firmware, the preferred form of the work for making modifications is, presumably, to edit a source file from which the binary blob can be rebuilt using an assembler or compiler. I am not a lawyer. Please do not use this as legal advice. Adam J. Richter __ ______________ 575 Oroville Road adam@yggdrasil.com \ / Miplitas, California 95035 +1 408 309-6081 | g g d r a s i l United States of America "Free Software For The Rest Of Us." - 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/