Michael Poole wrote: > Alexander Cherepanov writes: > >>Look, it explicitly mentions "a work containing the Program". The >>language is probably not ideal but it's crystal clear that "work based >>on the Program" is intended to mean _any_ work containing some part of >>the original work, be it a derived work, a compilation, or just a >>non-creative transformation. Even "the Program" itself is included in >>the definition of a "work based on the Program". > > Yes, and again, the GPL exempts "mere aggregation" -- whatever that > means. Otherwise, a Debian CD image would violate the GPL because it > is a work containing the Program, and parts of it would be under > GPL-incompatible (but DFSG-free) licenses.
Mere aggregation only applies to independent works, and only when they are distributed "on a volume of a storage or distribution medium". Separate, non-interdependent programs on Debian CDs fit both criteria. Firmware images embedded in kernel drivers fit neither. > Some people disagree with Linus that inclusion as a binary blob is > mere aggregation. However, five years passed between the first binary > blob that I know of and the first complaint that I know of (setting > aside the other issues with that complaint); that suggests that a fair > number of kernel developers agree with Linus or at least accept his > opinion on it. Or they were simply unaware of the presence of binary-only firmware in what was supposedly an entirely Free, GPLed kernel. - Josh Triplett
