From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S265217AbTLFQrk (ORCPT ); Sat, 6 Dec 2003 11:47:40 -0500 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S265223AbTLFQrk (ORCPT ); Sat, 6 Dec 2003 11:47:40 -0500 Received: from bay7-dav25.bay7.hotmail.com ([64.4.10.82]:46097 "EHLO hotmail.com") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S265217AbTLFQri (ORCPT ); Sat, 6 Dec 2003 11:47:38 -0500 X-Originating-IP: [24.61.138.213] X-Originating-Email: [jason_kingsland@hotmail.com] From: "Jason Kingsland" To: "Theodore Ts'o" , "Larry McVoy" , "Linus Torvalds" , "Larry McVoy" , "Erik Andersen" , "Zwane Mwaikambo" , "Paul Adams" , "Kernel Mailing List" References: <20031206153845.GA8552@thunk.org> Subject: Re: Linux GPL and binary module exception clause? Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2003 11:47:37 -0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1106 Message-ID: X-OriginalArrivalTime: 06 Dec 2003 16:47:37.0661 (UTC) FILETIME=[A7C776D0:01C3BC18] Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org "Theodore Ts'o" wrote: > you could potentially have in the single address space: > > * Solaris's propietary admin client > * The libss shared library (BSD) > * The GPL'ed readline library > > OK, riddle me this: is there a GPL violation, and if so, who committed it? There is no violation so long as the GPL code isn't being distributed as part of the Solaris proprietary work. It would be the responsibility of the distributor (Sun?) to ensure the licenses on everything they distribute are mutually compatible. That is specifically the reason for the exception clause in GPL: " If identifiable sections of that work are not derived from the Program, and can be reasonably considered independent and separate works in themselves, then this License, and its terms, do not apply to those sections when you distribute them as separate works. But when you distribute the same sections as part of a whole which is a work based on the Program, the distribution of the whole must be on the terms of this License, whose permissions for other licensees extend to the entire whole, and thus to each and every part regardless of who wrote it. "