On 2/15/07, Gene Heskett <[email protected]> wrote:
This definition seems to be a bit like nailing jelly to a tree in that so
far only one companies legal dept has pursued this to the point of
actually getting a court verdict rendered. That was the German ruling a
link was given to earlier in this thread(s).
---
The German decision did not go anywhere near the question of kernel
modules. It was a nice victory that the court decided the license was
enforceable, but the details of the license are still largely
untested.
---
...
I'm a bit like Clint Eastwood here, do you feel lucky? If not, then
please comply with the terms of the software you have chosen to base your
product on.
---
Note that it's not just "lucy", but "rich". Both sides would spend a
LOT of money if this went to court in the US. And, of course, "the
terms of the software [license]" are exactly what the case would be
deciding. There wouldn't be a case unless the two parties had
different views of the terms of the license.
---
As you have been told here repeatedly, a distribution to
your customers of code that is based on the GPL'd kernel headers does
bring you into non-compliance with the terms of the GPL. You can do
anything you want in house, but the minute that code ships, that is
a "distribution" and the GPL applies in full force in that its all made
GPL, or you cannot legally ship it. I don't know how it can be said any
plainer than that. But of course IANAL, so talk to yours, please.
---
I also ANAL, but even so I can point out that your assertion and Greg
KH's assertions do not have the force of law. Questions like "what is
a derived work" and "what does 'unrelated' mean" in the license are
just not black-and-white.
I don't like niggling about interpretation, either, especially with
material that someone has contributed to the community; I think it's
rude and possibly unethical and that not testing the limits avoids any
danger of impropriety. But claiming it's clear what the license
requires is simply misleading.
scott
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