On Mon, Nov 03, 2008, Josselin Mouette wrote: > > Consider SSL certificates for e.g. Verisign. It makes no sense to > > change them and we don't have the ultimate source for them. These are > > generated data files for which we have the tools to build them, but not > > the ultimate source data (private key). And if we had the private key, > > they would be worthless. These are effectively static data enabling > > SSL communications with sites using these SSL certs providers. > > Since SSL certificates are randomly generated data, they are not subject > to copyright law, so I don’t think they are in any grey area. We can > change them without any licensing issue, it’s just that they won’t > fulfill their job if we do.
I'm not arguing about their copyright(-ability): just that we can't usefully modify them; and still, the private key is the source to create the certificate (even if it's random data), and we don't have it in main. The same goes with firmware: we might have the right to distribute modified binary firmwares, and they are sufficiently useful as they are, even without accompanying ultimate source. Their form is sufficient for a free OS, not for free hardware though; just like certificates are sufficient for a free OS, not for an open certification chain. > > Firmwares can be considered somewhat the same: static data enabling the > > use of your hardware. You can perhaps change them. Perhaps we have > > the tools to change them. Perhaps we can change them usefully. But > > they are useful as such and we don't need to fight for their freedom as > > we fight for the freedom of the main OS. > > Firmware images are very different. They are binary code, only code not > meant for execution on the host CPU. They are similar to non-free data > for games: stuff that we cannot modify and with which we can live > without modifying, but it would be useful to be able to, and it is > impossible to distribute it in main. The non-free games data I know of is non-free because we may not modify it because the license doesn't explicitely allow it; what specific example did you have in mind? This is IMO different from firmware binaries which we may well be allowed to change, but don't have the tools/doc to do so. -- Loïc Minier -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
