Crispen Cowan said: >Note that if we decide that #include of a kernel header file means that >a work is derived, then we cause another problem: most Linux >applications come under the GPL. glibc #includes some kernel header >files, and most Linux applications #include glibc headers, so most >applications are #including kernel header files. If #include is the >basis for declaring a module to be a derived work of the kernel, then >there is some bad news coming for people who like to use Oracle and DB2 >on Linux ... Actually, in this case the both the standard GPL license and the license description in Linux itself seem fairly clear; proprietary _applications_ can run on top of a GPL'ed kernel. The GPL itself says: >However, as a >special exception, the source code distributed need not include >anything that is normally distributed (in either source or binary >form) with the major components (compiler, kernel, and so on) of the >operating system on which the executable runs, unless that component >itself accompanies the executable. And the Linux kernel license restates this concept quite explicitly. In addition, as has been pointed out elsewhere, there's additional indirection in the C libraries. Proprietary _kernel modules_ are in a far murkier world, legally. Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer! I don't even play one on TV :-). I just thought this might be useful information. --- David A. Wheeler _______________________________________________ linux-security-module mailing list linux-security-moduleat_private http://mail.wirex.com/mailman/listinfo/linux-security-module
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