Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S1753897AbXFOLcV (ORCPT ); Fri, 15 Jun 2007 07:32:21 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S1752137AbXFOLcM (ORCPT ); Fri, 15 Jun 2007 07:32:12 -0400 Received: from mx.laposte.net ([81.255.54.16]:22087 "EHLO mx.laposte.net" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1751302AbXFOLcK (ORCPT ); Fri, 15 Jun 2007 07:32:10 -0400 Message-ID: <52052.192.54.193.51.1181907121.squirrel@rousalka.dyndns.org> In-Reply-To: <9a8748490706150353i452cf529oc5c0e8119f91e64e@mail.gmail.com> References: <9a8748490706150353i452cf529oc5c0e8119f91e64e@mail.gmail.com> Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 13:32:01 +0200 (CEST) Subject: Re: Dual-Licensing Linux Kernel with GPL V2 and GPL V3 From: "Nicolas Mailhot" To: "Jesper Juhl" Cc: "Daniel Hazelton" , linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org User-Agent: SquirrelMail/1.4.10a-1.fc7 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain;charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) Importance: Normal Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Content-Length: 2174 Lines: 60 Le Ven 15 juin 2007 12:53, Jesper Juhl a écrit : > On 15/06/07, Nicolas Mailhot wrote: >> >> > by your argument, the user has some "right to modify the >> software", on >> >> > that piece of hardware it bought which had free software on it, >> correct? >> >> >> >> Yes. This means the hardware distributor who put the software in >> >> there must not place roadblocks that impede the user to get where >> she >> >> wants with the software, not that the vendor must offer the user >> a >> >> sport car to take her there. >> >> >Okay. That means that if I ship Linux on a ROM chip I have to >> somehow >> make >> >it so that the person purchasing the chip can modify the copy of >> Linux >> >installed on the chip *if* I want to follow both the spirit and the >> letter >> >of the GPLv2. >> >> The key word there is "can" >> >> You don't have to send the buyer the hardware design, replace the >> ROM >> with a flash, use a rom socket that allows easy switching etc. >> >> But you can not add measures to your hardware specifically designed >> to >> stop the user from modifying the GPL software part. Especially if >> those measures are something like DRM that do not make the tinkering >> just technically hard, but legally forbidden. >> >> As long as the restrictions result from technical choices not >> targetted at forbidding changes you're ok. >> > That's simply not true. > > As long as you get a copy of the source code for the software that's > running on the hardware it's OK. That's all the GPLv2 says. You'll note I was answering to a message about what the GPL intended, not the strict literal reading of the GPLv2 words. And what the GPL authors intended is obvious from the fact it all started with a printer driver and the need to change the software used to control this particular hardware (not some mythical other device without manufacturer restrictions -- Nicolas Mailhot - 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/