From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (qmail 29837 invoked by alias); 25 May 2005 14:30:31 -0000 Mailing-List: contact ecos-discuss-help@ecos.sourceware.org; run by ezmlm Precedence: bulk List-Subscribe: List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: , Sender: ecos-discuss-owner@ecos.sourceware.org Received: (qmail 29494 invoked by uid 22791); 25 May 2005 14:30:01 -0000 Received: from norbert.ecoscentric.com (HELO smtp.ecoscentric.com) (194.153.168.165) by sourceware.org (qpsmtpd/0.30-dev) with ESMTP; Wed, 25 May 2005 14:30:01 +0000 Received: by smtp.ecoscentric.com (Postfix, from userid 99) id 6F27B65C086; Wed, 25 May 2005 15:29:57 +0100 (BST) Received: from delenn.bartv.net (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by smtp.ecoscentric.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id C2B5465C064; Wed, 25 May 2005 15:29:55 +0100 (BST) To: tsai.cj@msa.hinet.net Cc: ecos-discuss@ecos.sourceware.org In-reply-to: From: Bart Veer References: Message-Id: <20050525142955.C2B5465C064@smtp.ecoscentric.com> Date: Thu, 26 May 2005 12:30:00 -0000 Subject: Re: [ECOS] Clean room module loader + GPL module + Application X-SW-Source: 2005-05/txt/msg00336.txt.bz2 >>>>> " " == Retallack, Mark (Siemens) writes: > I know eCos mod-GPL have been discussed several times. I also > understand that eCos is not GPL compatible Incorrect. The old RHEPL license was incompatible with the GPL. The current GPL+exception license is compatible. > --- Using GPL code in eCos kernel will force the license of > eCos application GPL. The reference to the eCos kernel is irrelevant. Using GPL code means that you have to comply with the terms of that license. If your application makes use of two other bits of code released under different licenses then it must comply with the terms of both licenses. You cannot ignore the license of one just because the other happens to be released on more liberal terms. For an analogy, suppose your application makes use of a proprietary OS and a proprietary device driver supplied by a different software company. You would expect to pay two license fees, one to the OS company and one to the company providing the driver. You cannot avoid paying the OS license fee because you are paying somebody else for different software. > Considering only legal issues (just ignore any technical or > code size issue), You cannot get a definitive answer to legal questions on this mailing list. Instead you need to consult a copyright lawyer who understands these issues, including legal variations between all the countries where you expect to do business. > If an eCos system is implemented like this: > (a) eCos kerenl (mod-GPL) > (b) Clean room module loader (closed license) > (c) A GPL module registers itself as "/dev/storage" (GPL) > (d) Clean room application, mount "/dev/storage" and use eCos > POSIX layer (via FAT filesystem) to access the device (closed > license). > Does the GPL "special exception" apply to this situation? Is it > legal If the provider do not release the source code of (b) and > (d)? My understanding is that (b) is fine. Such a module loader would be equivalent to application code and hence can be kept proprietary. However (d) is not fine. The application depends on the GPL'd code. My understanding is that legally this makes it a derived work and hence subject to the terms of the GPL. You cannot just bypass the GPL by adding a few indirections, copyright law does not work like that. Similarly under Linux you cannot just take GPL'd code like the gcc code generator, turn it into a shared library, and then link your proprietary application with the shared library. And before people start quoting the Linux kernel as a counter example, it has an explicit exemption allowing application code to use kernel services by the normal Linux system calls. See the top level COPYING file in the kernel sources. No such exemption applies in your scenario. I am not a lawyer and this is not official legal advice. If in doubt then you need to consult somebody suitably qualified to answer these questions. Bart -- Bart Veer eCos Configuration Architect http://www.ecoscentric.com/ The eCos and RedBoot experts -- Before posting, please read the FAQ: http://ecos.sourceware.org/fom/ecos and search the list archive: http://ecos.sourceware.org/ml/ecos-discuss