Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S964860AbXBQDAa (ORCPT ); Fri, 16 Feb 2007 22:00:30 -0500 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S964882AbXBQDAa (ORCPT ); Fri, 16 Feb 2007 22:00:30 -0500 Received: from mail1.webmaster.com ([216.152.64.169]:2182 "EHLO mail1.webmaster.com" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S964860AbXBQDA3 (ORCPT ); Fri, 16 Feb 2007 22:00:29 -0500 From: "David Schwartz" To: "Linux-Kernel@Vger. Kernel. Org" Subject: RE: GPL vs non-GPL device drivers Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 18:59:29 -0800 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.6604 (9.0.2911.0) In-Reply-To: <9a8748490702160614u5f596d12yc98c2a5add9da7b3@mail.gmail.com> X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3028 Importance: Normal X-Authenticated-Sender: joelkatz@webmaster.com X-Spam-Processed: mail1.webmaster.com, Fri, 16 Feb 2007 18:59:47 -0800 (not processed: message from trusted or authenticated source) X-MDRemoteIP: 206.171.168.138 X-Return-Path: davids@webmaster.com X-MDaemon-Deliver-To: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Reply-To: davids@webmaster.com X-MDAV-Processed: mail1.webmaster.com, Fri, 16 Feb 2007 18:59:48 -0800 Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Content-Length: 1520 Lines: 33 > Linking with kernel exported symbols in a kernel module is by many > people considered creating a work derived from the kernel. That's simply unreasonable. It is the most clear settled law that only a creative process can create a work for copyright purposes. Linking is an automated process, not a creative process. It cannot create a work at all, much less a derivative work. If you have two works, A and B, and neither is a derivative work of the other, linking them together cannot change the status of A or B. Whether a work is a derivative work of another is dependent on what the work *is*, not anything you do with it. The result of the linking of A and B is an aggregate of A and B and not a single work at all. I think you severely misstate their position (or I'm overestimating their understanding). The position of many people is that if you create a work that is capable of being linked with kernel exported modules, that work would have to contain so much internal knowledge of (and actual code from) the kernel that it would have to be a derivative work of it. This would be true whether or not anybody actually did link it. Linking cannot change the status of the works linked. The process of linking is not created and cannot produce a new work. DS - 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/