Hi, On Mon, 2001-11-26 at 02:03, Oleg Goldshmidt wrote: > > Let's say a company is considering making a kernel module out of > a piece of software. Never mind the reasons to make it a kernel module > - assume they are good and valid. There is no intention to sneak this > module into the mainstream kernel - it's an add-on. Suppose there is a > requirement to distribute it in binary form only, loadable via > insmod/rmmod.
When you read the following, bare in mind one thing: I am not a lawyer and I don't even play one on TV. Having said that, I did investiage this issue quite a lot for reasons very similar to yours. The situation is as follows: Binary only kernel modules are a clear violation of the GPL (since they "link" to the kernel image, much like linking is done with a loadable run time library). However, Linux Torvalds have expressed his "agreement" for the existance of binary only kernel modules as long they load ageinst an unmodified kernel (which is why MOSIX had to release their stuff under the GPL too). Mind you, he still thinks (or at least said so) that it's "immoral" and there's doubt that you will be cast away by Saint IGNUcious from the one true church (of EMACS, of course ;-) but he allows it. Three points to consider, however: 1. This is something Linus said and behaves by, but it's not included in the"official" kernel documentation. 2. Linus is not the only copyright holder for the kernel code, although it's pretty obvious that without Linus's agreement nothing can be done with the kernel as is. (e.g. someone trying to sue without Linus agreeing might find that his code is no longer part of the kernel... or worse that he no longer has Linux approvale to use his code as part of the kernerl). 3. There are quite a few big companies that published and publish significant works as binary only kernel modules (e.g. Checkpoint's Firewall-1 for Linux). It would seem their lawyers think it's ok. Just my 2c, Gilad. ================================================================= To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word "unsubscribe" in the message body, e.g., run the command echo unsubscribe | mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
