Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S1754130AbXFNIde (ORCPT ); Thu, 14 Jun 2007 04:33:34 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S1752099AbXFNId1 (ORCPT ); Thu, 14 Jun 2007 04:33:27 -0400 Received: from mail.gmx.net ([213.165.64.20]:60797 "HELO mail.gmx.net" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with SMTP id S1751807AbXFNId1 (ORCPT ); Thu, 14 Jun 2007 04:33:27 -0400 X-Authenticated: #153925 X-Provags-ID: V01U2FsdGVkX1/0AD9kQ/T0IFRnWSG7EzX6m1S51JE2qudYQC6v0n U2aoIVEPHQWZ8U From: Bernd Paysan To: Alexandre Oliva Subject: Re: Dual-Licensing Linux Kernel with GPL V2 and GPL V3 Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 10:33:20 +0200 User-Agent: KMail/1.9.5 Cc: Linus Torvalds , Lennart Sorensen , Greg KH , debian developer , david@lang.hm, Tarkan Erimer , linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, Andrew Morton , mingo@elte.hu References: In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/signed; boundary="nextPart1246236.CyIZxkf0nW"; protocol="application/pgp-signature"; micalg=pgp-sha1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: <200706141033.22605.bernd.paysan@gmx.de> X-Y-GMX-Trusted: 0 Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Content-Length: 2788 Lines: 78 --nextPart1246236.CyIZxkf0nW Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Disposition: inline On Thursday 14 June 2007 01:49, Alexandre Oliva wrote: > Oh, good, let's take this one. > > if you distribute copies of such a program, [...] > you must give the recipients all the rights that you have > > So, TiVo includes a copy of Linux in its DVR. > > TiVo retains the right to modify that copy of Linux as it sees fit. > > It doesn't give the recipients the same right. > > Oops. > > Sounds like a violation of the spirit to me. > > Sounds like plugging this hole would retain the same spirit. Note that Harald Welte has already managed to force Siemens to unlock=20 a "tivoized" Linux router with the GPLv2 in Germany. German contract law=20 values intention when the contract has no specific clause that deals with=20 the issue, and in German law, an accepted license is a contract. So the fact that tivoizing Linux is against the spirit of the GPLv2 is a=20 court-proof fact, not just some speculation. What about if your GPL program ends up in a piece of hardware (e.g. a ROM,= =20 or an embedded ROM, or if it's some GPL code from OpenCores, as gate=20 netlist in silicon)? My interpretation is that you need a permission from=20 the author for doing that, unless there's an easy way to replace it with a= =20 modified copy (e.g. if you put the OpenCores stuff into an FPGA, replacing= =20 the configuration PROM would do it). Some people have difficulties with intentions of contracts rather than=20 direct rules. That may be due to different rules in different countries. In= =20 continental Europe, contract law usually bases on Code Napoleon, and=20 there, "good faith" is an important principle (and "good faith" means that= =20 the intention is more important than the actual coded practices). In the=20 roman law that was used before and has survived in countries who didn't let= =20 Napoleon in (like the UK and the USA), it's slightly different. But a=20 contract or a license still is not a program where anything that isn't said= =20 explicitely isn't said at all. =2D-=20 Bernd Paysan "If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself" http://www.jwdt.com/~paysan/ --nextPart1246236.CyIZxkf0nW Content-Type: application/pgp-signature -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.5 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQBGcP1Si4ILt2cAfDARAvmsAKDVtl5xW8z9NsWFX5pvXEftawyJeQCfeHFv uZzukcHkkmZnlIGul0BG110= =V11W -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --nextPart1246236.CyIZxkf0nW-- - 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/