[OpenAFS-devel] keyring/pag support for linux

[Harald Barth]

> >> Activities other than copying, distribution and modification are not
> >> covered by this License; they are outside its scope.  The act of
> >> running the Program is not restricted, and the output from the Program
> >> is covered only if its contents constitute a work based on the
> >> Program (independent of having been made by running the Program).
> 
> The argument is that binary kernel modules are derived works of linux (at 
> the very least, because there are all these inline functions in headers 
> which appear in the object code) and therefore all their components must be 
> GPLd.

Some of the kernel modules may be that, but they are neither copied,
distributed nor modified during that process. The content of your DVD
is not "copied" (in the same legal sense of "copied") either when it
is shown on your DVD player.

If I would distribute the OpenAFS kernel module together with the
kernel I may would do something that is not according to the license,
but I don't do _that_.

> > Linus has specifically said the opposite, naming OpenAFS in particular,
> > many times, so at least on the merits of that objection he's going to
> > lose.  Provided that Linus is consistent, and I would hope Linux would be.
> Linus has also said that individual contributors of code are allowed to 
> disagree with him wrt their new contributions. this is why we have 
> EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL.
> 
> In the case of the RCU (read-copy-update) interface in particular, IBM has 
> a patent on this technology, and has only granted royalty-free licenses to 
> GPL applications. 
> <http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=linux-kernel&m=110522490820482&w=2> (I 
> cannot find a "real" reference for this...)

Damn, that is worse that the GPL, someone with a better reference?

"And in latest news, an IBM patent license prevents IBM copyrighted code
to use IBM contributions to the Linux kernel." Schwweeeet.

Harald.