Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id ; Thu, 18 Oct 2001 12:00:28 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id ; Thu, 18 Oct 2001 12:00:19 -0400 Received: from adsl-64-109-204-69.milwaukee.wi.ameritech.net ([64.109.204.69]:29174 "HELO alphaflight.d6.dnsalias.org") by vger.kernel.org with SMTP id ; Thu, 18 Oct 2001 12:00:08 -0400 Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2001 11:00:09 -0500 From: "M. R. Brown" To: Greg Boyce Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Subject: Re: Input on the Non-GPL Modules Message-ID: <20011018110009.K22296@0xd6.org> In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/signed; micalg=pgp-sha1; protocol="application/pgp-signature"; boundary="CxDuMX1Cv2n9FQfo" Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: User-Agent: Mutt/1.3.22i Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org --CxDuMX1Cv2n9FQfo Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable * Greg Boyce on Thu, Oct 18, 2001: >=20 > However, with the addition of GPL only symbols, you add motivation for > conning. Not by end users, but by the developers of binary only > modules. If they export the GPL license symbol, they gain access to > kernel symbols that they may want to use. Since no code is actually being > stolen, would this kind of trick actually cause a licensing violation? >=20 Yeah, but the GPL requires availability of source, so I don't see how they could get around that (it would no longer be a closed-source module and mig= ht as well be GPL'd). Hmm, does MODULE_LICENSE() actually state that the module is covered under the GPL? If not, could something like this work? --- module.h.orig Thu Oct 18 10:56:09 2001 +++ module.h Thu Oct 18 10:58:43 2001 @@ -286,7 +286,11 @@ =20 #define MODULE_LICENSE(license) \ static const char __module_license[] __attribute__((section(".modinfo"))) = =3D \ -"license=3D" license +"license=3D" license; \ +static const char __module_license_blurb[] __attribute__((section(".modinf= o"))) =3D \ +"license_blurb=3DThis module is covered under the GPL v2 or any later vers= ion. " \ +"Please see the file COPYING in the toplevel directory of the source archi= ve " \ +"of this module." =20 /* Define the module variable, and usage macros. */ extern struct module __this_module; Of course this can still be circumvented by removing that string from include/linux/module.h, but you'd still be able to identify renegade modules, since they perpetrate as GPL'd modules. M. R. --CxDuMX1Cv2n9FQfo Content-Type: application/pgp-signature Content-Disposition: inline -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE7zvyJaK6pP/GNw0URAj7KAKCudUmR63wJPGDniSypcEC7bUBOKgCeI2NA LWXmpVENWTG2P+GUTOyTERk= =Vm/z -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --CxDuMX1Cv2n9FQfo-- - 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/