Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 01:53:41 +0100
From: Andrea Arcangeli <andrea@suse.de>
To: Tim Bird <tim.bird@am.sony.com>
Cc: David Woodhouse <dwmw2@infradead.org>, arjan@infradead.org,
       andrew@walrond.org, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: Linux in a binary world... a doomsday scenario
Message-ID: <20051206005341.GN28539@opteron.random>
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On Mon, Dec 05, 2005 at 03:56:06PM -0800, Tim Bird wrote:
> If the GPL covers interface linkages (whether static or
> dynamic) then EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL is redundant.  If it does
> not, in all cases, then EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL is, as
> an extension to GPL, therefore a GPL violation.

The last time I spoke with Linus about this, what I understood can be
described in two points:

1) EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL is an hint: if you have to circumvent it, there are
high chances that you're creating a derivative of the linux kernel and
in turn there are high chances that you're illegal

2) The fact you're illegal or not, has nothing to do with the _GPL tag
in the exports, the illegal usage is when the module create a derivative
of the linux kernel.

Now I don't know for sure myself (I'm not a lawyer) what is a derivative
of the linux kernel (don't ask me), but the two above points are quite
clear to me. 

I always thought the _GPL tag could have no direct legal implications
and Linus confirmed it. The kernel is GPL so everyone can modify the
exports or re-export symbols as usual, the exports are GPL code too. The
guy who re-exports or remove a _GPL tag is just modifying a GPL code, so
he's ok.

The _GPL tag is useful as an hint to binary only vendors as as such it
makes perfect sense.
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