[ECOS] eCos License questions

[ECOS] eCos License questions

[Richard Rauch]

Hi All,

I have some questions about the eCos license model.
My company is working on eCos ports and enhancements for several customers.
The customers always are in doubt about the eCos License model and
contributions. 

So I want to clarify this issues.

1. Which code is covered from the eCos License?
Of course, if changes are made to the kernel itself or to other already
published sources, the resulting code must be made available, too.
But how drivers for special hardware must be handled, which are using only
the driver interface of eCos, but do not include any code from the
repository?
Is such a driver part of eCos and must be made available or is it allowed to
handle it like an application, which we do not have to distribute? 

2. How to distribute source code?
If some sourcecode must be made available, how we have to do this? Should
the code always be contributed to the eCos Community (eCos Maintainers) or
is it sufficient to keep the source code and deliver it to a interested
client on demand?
How long must the sourcecode be made available? Is it a fixed time span?
When yes, starts this time span after the development or after the last time
a product, containing this code, was selled?

3. Who has to make the source code available?
Is my company obligated to publish source code, when my company has got an
order from a customer to make developments, which are covered by the eCos
License?
Or is it enough that my company gives an advice to the customer, that the
delivered source code is covered by the eCos License and the customer is
obligated to publish the code?

Thanks in advance

Richard

_______________________________________________

ITR GmbH 
Informationstechnologie Rauch 
Schnepfenreuther Hauptstrasse 27b
D-90425 Nuernberg

web:     http://www.itrgmbh.de 
email:   info@itrgmbh.de
_______________________________________________



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Re: [ECOS] eCos License questions

[Ross Younger]

On 17/01/11 20:45, Richard Rauch wrote:
> I have some questions about the eCos license model.

What I'm about to say here is my view and not formal legal advice; if at 
all unsure, you should secure professional advice in your own jurisdiction.

> 1. Which code is covered from the eCos License?

Within eCos, every file is expected to declare its own license. (This is 
common practice in the open-source world.) Most of the files in the 
public repository are covered by the eCos License, but there are a small 
number of exceptions (e.g. net/bsd_tcpip/* which is BSD licensed).

> But how drivers for special hardware must be handled, which are using only
> the driver interface of eCos, but do not include any code from the
> repository?
> Is such a driver part of eCos and must be made available or is it allowed to
> handle it like an application, which we do not have to distribute?

The exception clause in the eCos license explicitly does not "infect" 
any code linked with it. This applies to the interface (header files) as 
well as to the source. In other words, the situation for such special 
drivers is the same as for applications: provided they do not count as 
derivative works of eCos source, they would remain under the copyright 
holder's choice of license.

> 2. How to distribute source code?
> If some sourcecode must be made available, how we have to do this? Should
> the code always be contributed to the eCos Community (eCos Maintainers) or
> is it sufficient to keep the source code and deliver it to a interested
> client on demand?

I can't speak for the maintainers, but as a member of the community I 
would always prefer to see contributions and patches which enhance eCos 
to be posted - however, strictly speaking, there is no obligation to do so.

The requirement from the GPL is to either deliver the relevant source 
code along with the object code, to allow it to be downloaded at the 
same time, or to make a written offer to provide a physical copy on 
request. See GPL v2 clause 3, or GPL v3 clause 6, for details.

> 3. Who has to make the source code available?

Anybody who distributes a Covered Work is obliged to comply with the 
license when they do so. Exactly what this means for you depends on the 
agreement you have with your customer over who holds copyright on the 
work. It is likely that your company would have to make the relevant 
source code available to your customer, and if your customer were to 
redistribute it they would in turn have to make the source code available.


Ross

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[ECOS] Re: eCos License questions

[John Dallaway]

Hi Richard

Ross Younger wrote:

> On 17/01/11 20:45, Richard Rauch wrote:
> 
>> 2. How to distribute source code?
>> If some sourcecode must be made available, how we have to do this? Should
>> the code always be contributed to the eCos Community (eCos Maintainers) or
>> is it sufficient to keep the source code and deliver it to a interested
>> client on demand?
> 
> I can't speak for the maintainers, but as a member of the community I
> would always prefer to see contributions and patches which enhance eCos
> to be posted - however, strictly speaking, there is no obligation to do so.
> 
> The requirement from the GPL is to either deliver the relevant source
> code along with the object code, to allow it to be downloaded at the
> same time, or to make a written offer to provide a physical copy on
> request. See GPL v2 clause 3, or GPL v3 clause 6, for details.

I would add that contributing your code to the eCos project repository
is the best/easiest way to ensure that it remains compatible with other
eCos developments in the long term.

John Dallaway
eCos maintainer

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AW: [ECOS] Re: eCos License questions

[Richard Rauch]

Hi,

> I would add that contributing your code to the eCos project repository is
the best/easiest way to ensure that it remains compatible with other eCos
developments in the long term.

In principle I agree. For me the most easiest way would be to contribute all
stuff to the repository, I ever programmed for eCos. So I would not have any
effort to keep or to publish source codes.
But I believe, that this is only desired, when the code would enhance the
eCos and would not cause additional work.

Examples:

I have a small project to make a driver for a customer specific protocol
based on a fiber optic wire and a FPGA, which is making the bit codings.
I think, beside this customer nobody in the world is interested in this
driver, so this code would be rubbish for the community.

Or maybe for hardware adaptions some changes of existing drivers are
necessary. In order to save time and money, this adaptions are made in a
dirty way, which would not fullfilling the requirements of the eCos
repository.
It would not be able to contribute this changes to the community, but as I
understand now, I have to publish the source code in another way.

An additional question:
Assumed that a source code must be published... Is it enough to make the
source code available to the customers, who have bought the product which
contains the source code or is it necessary to make the source code
available to everyone, who is interested in (but is no customer)?


Richard

_______________________________________________

ITR GmbH
Informationstechnologie Rauch
Schnepfenreuther Hauptstrasse 27b
D-90425 Nuernberg

web:     http://www.itrgmbh.de 
email:   info@itrgmbh.de
_______________________________________________
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: ecos-discuss-owner@ecos.sourceware.org
[mailto:ecos-discuss-owner@ecos.sourceware.org] Im Auftrag von John Dallaway
Gesendet: Dienstag, 18. Januar 2011 09:41
An: Richard Rauch
Cc: Ross Younger; ecos-discuss@ecos.sourceware.org
Betreff: [ECOS] Re: eCos License questions

Hi Richard

Ross Younger wrote:

> On 17/01/11 20:45, Richard Rauch wrote:
> 
>> 2. How to distribute source code?
>> If some sourcecode must be made available, how we have to do this? 
>> Should the code always be contributed to the eCos Community (eCos 
>> Maintainers) or is it sufficient to keep the source code and deliver 
>> it to a interested client on demand?
> 
> I can't speak for the maintainers, but as a member of the community I 
> would always prefer to see contributions and patches which enhance 
> eCos to be posted - however, strictly speaking, there is no obligation to
do so.
> 
> The requirement from the GPL is to either deliver the relevant source 
> code along with the object code, to allow it to be downloaded at the 
> same time, or to make a written offer to provide a physical copy on 
> request. See GPL v2 clause 3, or GPL v3 clause 6, for details.


John Dallaway
eCos maintainer

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