Message-ID: <441057D4.6030304@cfl.rr.com>
Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2006 11:29:08 -0500
From: Phillip Susi <psusi@cfl.rr.com>
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To: Luke-Jr <luke@dashjr.org>
CC: Anshuman Gholap <anshu.pg@gmail.com>, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [future of drivers?] a proposal for binary drivers.
References: <ec92bc30603080135j5257c992k2452f64752d38abd@mail.gmail.com> <200603091509.06173.luke@dashjr.org>
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Luke-Jr wrote:
> Or Linux can remain GPL'd, which prohibits binary drivers *legally*, and back 
> this by keeping a non-stable API which prohibits binary drivers 
> *technically*.

If binary drivers are illegal, then why have ATI and nvidia not been 
sued yet?

Interacting with the kernel does not make your software a derived work. 
  A derived work is if you make your own kernel that is very close to a 
straight copy of the Linux kernel.  The right to create new works that 
interact with others ( and therefore, require some understanding of how 
the other work operates ) is specifically protected by the US copyright 
act.

This is why it is legal to reverse engineer a binary driver to gain an 
understanding of how the hardware operates, publish that information, 
and then use that information to create new software to operate that 
hardware.


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