linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] USB: mark USB drivers as being GPL only

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Message-ID: <47A8F27F.3060504@nortel.com>
Date:	Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:34:23 -0600
From:	"Chris Friesen" <cfriesen@...tel.com>
To:	David Newall <davidn@...idnewall.com>
CC:	Greg KH <greg@...ah.com>, Christer Weinigel <christer@...nigel.se>,
	Pekka Enberg <penberg@...helsinki.fi>,
	linux-usb@...r.kernel.org, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH] USB: mark USB drivers as being GPL only

David Newall wrote:
> That being said, a module can be written such 
> that it only dynamically links with the kernel.  Ndiswrapper is an 
> example of how this can be done: None of the drivers that work under 
> ndiswrapper make any direct use of the kernel, not in any way, indeed a 
> wrapper could be written for a different operating system.

The issue is all about "derivative works" in copyright law.

Ndiswrapper is in a good position because the closed-source drivers were 
originally written for another OS so it's pretty well impossible to 
argue that they are derived from linux.

However, if I were to write a new GPL shim and then a new closed-source 
module that uses the shim to access kernel symbols, it is entirely 
possible that a court could rule that my closed-source module is a 
derivative work of the linux kernel because it was written specifically 
to run on linux.

On the other hand if I were to sit down and write an OS-agnostic 
proprietary chunk of code, and then write a new GPL shim to use it under 
linux (and maybe other shim layers for other OS's as well), I _might_ be 
okay.  But I would have to be prepared to prove that the proprietary 
code was not derived from the Linux kernel.

Chris
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