From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.0 (2014-02-07) on aws-us-west-2-korg-lkml-1.web.codeaurora.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-4.0 required=3.0 tests=BAYES_00, HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS,MAILING_LIST_MULTI,SPF_HELO_NONE,SPF_PASS autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.0 Received: from mail.kernel.org (mail.kernel.org [198.145.29.99]) by smtp.lore.kernel.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 5A112C433E2 for ; Mon, 31 Aug 2020 22:37:24 +0000 (UTC) Received: from vger.kernel.org (vger.kernel.org [23.128.96.18]) by mail.kernel.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 33A51206FA for ; Mon, 31 Aug 2020 22:37:24 +0000 (UTC) Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S1726174AbgHaWhX (ORCPT ); Mon, 31 Aug 2020 18:37:23 -0400 Received: from lindbergh.monkeyblade.net ([23.128.96.19]:37854 "EHLO lindbergh.monkeyblade.net" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1726117AbgHaWhX (ORCPT ); Mon, 31 Aug 2020 18:37:23 -0400 Received: from ms.lwn.net (ms.lwn.net [IPv6:2600:3c01:e000:3a1::42]) by lindbergh.monkeyblade.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 41535C061573; Mon, 31 Aug 2020 15:37:22 -0700 (PDT) Received: from lwn.net (localhost [127.0.0.1]) (using TLSv1.2 with cipher ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 (256/256 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by ms.lwn.net (Postfix) with ESMTPSA id 57BFB537; Mon, 31 Aug 2020 22:37:21 +0000 (UTC) Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2020 16:37:20 -0600 From: Jonathan Corbet To: Dave Hansen Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, dan.j.williams@intel.com, h.peter.anvin@intel.com, tglx@linutronix.de, gregkh@linuxfoundation.org, linux-spdx@vger.kernel.org, linux-doc@vger.kernel.org Subject: Re: [PATCH] [v2] Documentation: clarify driver licensing rules Message-ID: <20200831163720.3c70d17d@lwn.net> In-Reply-To: <20200814145625.8B708079@viggo.jf.intel.com> References: <20200814145625.8B708079@viggo.jf.intel.com> Organization: LWN.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: linux-spdx-owner@vger.kernel.org Precedence: bulk List-ID: X-Mailing-List: linux-spdx@vger.kernel.org On Fri, 14 Aug 2020 07:56:25 -0700 Dave Hansen wrote: > Greg has challenged some recent driver submitters on their license > choices. He was correct to do so, as the choices in these instances > did not always advance the aims of the submitters. > > But, this left submitters (and the folks who help them pick licenses) > a bit confused. They have read things like > Documentation/process/license-rules.rst which says: > > individual source files can have a different license > which is required to be compatible with the GPL-2.0 > > and Documentation/process/submitting-drivers.rst: > > We don't insist on any kind of exclusive GPL licensing, > and if you wish ... you may well wish to release under > multiple licenses. > > As written, these appear a _bit_ more laissez faire than we've been in > practice lately. It sounds like we at least expect submitters to make > a well-reasoned license choice and to explain their rationale. It does > not appear that we blindly accept anything that is simply > GPLv2-compatible. > > Drivers appear to be the most acute source of misunderstanding, so fix > the driver documentation first. Update it to clarify expectations. Applied, thanks. jon