Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 11:29:28 -0800
From: Greg KH <greg@kroah.com>
To: Roland Dreier <roland@topspin.com>
Cc: Johannes Erdfelt <johannes@erdfelt.com>, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [openib-general] Re: [PATCH][RFC/v1][4/12] Add InfiniBand SA (Subnet Administration) query support
Message-ID: <20041124192928.GA2053@kroah.com>
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On Wed, Nov 24, 2004 at 11:23:37AM -0800, Roland Dreier wrote:
>     Greg> No.  RCU is covered by a patent that only allows for it to
>     Greg> be implemented in GPL licensed code.  If you want to use RCU
>     Greg> in non-GPL code, you need to sign a license agreement with
>     Greg> the holder of the RCU patent.
> 
> Not to stir up the flames any further (and this is really a moot point
> since I got rid of our use of RCU)...
> 
> But given that I could implement the same API as in rcupdate.h as
> below without using IBM's patented technique, how does merely using
> this API cause code to require a patent license?

Consult your IP lawyer for issues like this, I am not one, and do not
have an answer for this.

thanks,

greg k-h
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