Re: License go no go?

From: Dragan Stancevic (visitorat_private)
Date: Sat Oct 26 2002 - 13:48:27 PDT

  • Next message: Dragan Stancevic: "Re: License go no go?"

    On Friday 25 October 2002 23:09, Crispin Cowan wrote:
    > I agree: Linus did not fully answer the question of whether proprietary
    > LSM modules are possible. However, even if Linus did answer the
    > question, his answer might not be authoritative. My humble opinion:
    
    Yeah, I understand that his answer might not be authoritative since there are 
    so many copyright holders on the linux kernel code.
    
    >     * If you patch the Linux kernel directly, it is inescapable: your
    >       patch is GPL'd code.
    >     * If you provide an LSM module, you *might* be able to get away with
    >       keeping the module proprietary. Emphasis on "might"; this is
    >       highly controversial, and there are those among the authors of the
    >       Linux kernel who passionately believe that all LSM modules are
    >       derived works of the Linux kernel, and thus subject to its GPL
    >       license.
    
    I agree on the issue of patching the kernel directly, the thing that seems a 
    bit fuzzy to me is a lodable module that would change values of variables in 
    some of the kernel structures. Such change would only affect the way the 
    GPL'd code is executed but does not change the code itself. I understand that 
    if you have copyrighted code that does something and someone else uses it 
    that is derived works, but I can't see the values that variables hold be 
    under the same restrictions. Everybody would be suing everybody. But from 
    reading some the opinions on l-k some people seem to imply that they consider 
    that derived works also. 
    
    
    > BIG Caveat: I am not a lawyer, and my opinion here *certainly* is not
    > authoritative. If you plan to ship a proprietary module, you do so at
    > your own risk, and you had best get your own IP lawyer.
    
    For sure.
    
    -- 
    Peace can only come as a natural consequence
    of universal enlightenment. -Dr. Nikola Tesla
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