Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S264151AbUD0OMp (ORCPT ); Tue, 27 Apr 2004 10:12:45 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S264138AbUD0OMp (ORCPT ); Tue, 27 Apr 2004 10:12:45 -0400 Received: from c3p0.cc.swin.edu.au ([136.186.1.30]:63492 "EHLO swin.edu.au") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S264160AbUD0OLC (ORCPT ); Tue, 27 Apr 2004 10:11:02 -0400 To: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org From: Tim Connors Subject: Re: [PATCH] Blacklist binary-only modules lying about their license (-> possible GPL violation :) In-reply-to: <20040427131257.GG29503@lug-owl.de> References: <408DC0E0.7090500@gmx.net> <1083045844.2150.105.camel@bach> <20040427092159.GC29503@lug-owl.de> <408E37D9.7030804@gmx.net> <408E5944.8090807@grupopie.com> <20040427131257.GG29503@lug-owl.de> X-Face: "$j_Mi4]y1OBC/&z_^bNEN.b2?Nq4#6U/FiE}PPag?w3'vo79[]J_w+gQ7}d4emsX+`'Uh*.GPj}6jr\XLj|R^AI,5On^QZm2xlEnt4Xj]Ia">r37r<@S.qQKK;Y,oKBl<1.sP8r,umBRH';vjULF^fydLBbHJ"tP?/1@iDFsKkXRq`]Jl51PWN0D0%rty(`3Jx3nYg! Message-ID: Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2004 00:10:55 +1000 Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Content-Length: 2007 Lines: 50 Jan-Benedict Glaw said on Tue, 27 Apr 2004 15:12:57 +0200: > > --+sHJum3is6Tsg7/J > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 > Content-Disposition: inline > Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable > > On Tue, 2004-04-27 13:59:48 +0100, Paulo Marques > wrote in message <408E5944.8090807@grupopie.com>: > > Carl-Daniel Hailfinger wrote: > > >This way, the module format doesn't change, but we can do additional > > >verification in the loader. > >=20 > > The way I see it, they know a C string ends with a '\0'. This is like=20 > > saying that a English sentence ends with a dot. If they wrote "GPL\0" the= > y=20 > > are effectively saying that the license *is* GPL period. > >=20 > > So, where the source code? :) > > That's another (quite amusing:) point of view. Anybody willing to ask a > lawyer? In the wonderful Good Ol USofA, I think it would be trivial to apply the DMCA: A character string following the appropriate convention (null termination) is a protection mechanism. Breaking that convention is a cicumvention device. If it can work for XOR, and gets someone thrown in prison for 12 months, surely it will work for null termination? Pretty clear cut, so, who's going to write this lovely company a letter/send in the land-sharks (someone better, otherwise companies will realise very quickly that they can stamp all over us with no retribution[1])? I don't own any relevant copyright, unfortunately. [1] Has anything been done about the other members on the hall or shame? -- TimC -- http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/staff/tconnors/ HANDLE WITH EXTREME CARE: This Product Contains Minute Electrically Charged Particles Moving at Velocities in Excess of Five Hundred Million Miles Per Hour. - 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/