kevin wrote: > Hi, all > I want to port 4.4BSD-Lite's TCP/IP source code to my own OS kernel. > My OS kernel is GPL licenced. > Is it possible for me to modify 4.4BSD-Lite's source code and change its > licence from 4.4BSD-Lite licence to GPL licence?
You cannot *change* the license to anything if you don't have explicit permission from the original authors (the people who created the file with the license text in it). You can *use* the BSD licensed source in your GPL project without any restrictions or requirements. You can *add* your own copyright clause and/or license to the files if you change them. In this particular case the virulent aspect of the GPL comes into play so the rest of the source becomes tainted with GPL, and in effect becomes GPL-licensed (which is allowed). But you must not *remove* the original BSD license text and its copyright lines even in this case. If you suspect anyone might sue you for it, don't rely on what I said; you must seek opinion from a lawyer.
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