--- Giuseppe Bilotta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Except that we're talking about *hardware* companies > here, not > *software* companies. *Hardware* companies make > money by selling > *hardware*, not the software that drives it: in > fact, they always > distribute the 'software' they write (the drivers) > for free (gratis). > > So while what you say is perfectly sensible for > *software* developers, > it has absolutely nothing to do with the closed > source drivers > *hardware* companies distribute. The argument that a hardware company usually invokes is that, while they don't give a horse's pitute about the software itself, they do care about the information the software contains about their hardware. The concern is that publishing the software under any form of open or free license would be seen as publishing the details of the hardware, thus making any claims that they attempted to protect thier intellectual property void. They would sell less hardware because they would have no legal recourse against anyone who "stole" the secrets to their hardware. I make no claims to understanding the legal basis for this position. I don't even know if I think it makes sense. I have heard it often enough to understand that many people believe it though. Casey Schaufler [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
