linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] LICENSES: Explicitly allow SPDX-FileCopyrightText

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Message-ID: <20260107192929.GE20168@pendragon.ideasonboard.com>
Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2026 21:29:29 +0200
From: Laurent Pinchart <laurent.pinchart@...asonboard.com>
To: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@...uxfoundation.org>
Cc: Krzysztof Kozlowski <krzysztof.kozlowski@....qualcomm.com>,
	Thomas Gleixner <tglx@...utronix.de>,
	Jonathan Corbet <corbet@....net>,
	Andy Whitcroft <apw@...onical.com>, Joe Perches <joe@...ches.com>,
	Dwaipayan Ray <dwaipayanray1@...il.com>,
	Lukas Bulwahn <lukas.bulwahn@...il.com>, linux-spdx@...r.kernel.org,
	workflows@...r.kernel.org, linux-doc@...r.kernel.org,
	linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH] LICENSES: Explicitly allow SPDX-FileCopyrightText

On Wed, Jan 07, 2026 at 07:52:31PM +0100, Greg KH wrote:
> On Wed, Jan 07, 2026 at 06:12:47PM +0100, Krzysztof Kozlowski wrote:
> > Sources already have SPDX-FileCopyrightText (~40 instances) and more
> > appear on the mailing list, so document that it is allowed.  On the
> > other hand SPDX defines several other tags like SPDX-FileType, so add
> > checkpatch rule to narrow desired tags only to two of them - license and
> > copyright.  That way no new tags would sneak in to the kernel unnoticed.
> > 
> > Signed-off-by: Krzysztof Kozlowski <krzysztof.kozlowski@....qualcomm.com>
> > 
> > ---
> > 
> > Other way would be to remove SPDX-FileCopyrightText from existing files
> > and disallow this, but one way or another we should be explicit about
> > it.  Otherwise people will be sending more of these and each maintainer
> > would need to make their own call.
> > ---
> >  Documentation/process/license-rules.rst | 2 ++
> >  scripts/checkpatch.pl                   | 9 +++++++++
> >  2 files changed, 11 insertions(+)
> > 
> > diff --git a/Documentation/process/license-rules.rst b/Documentation/process/license-rules.rst
> > index 59a7832df7d0..8d7c0214f283 100644
> > --- a/Documentation/process/license-rules.rst
> > +++ b/Documentation/process/license-rules.rst
> > @@ -66,6 +66,8 @@ License identifier syntax
> >     '#!PATH_TO_INTERPRETER' in the first line.  For those scripts the SPDX
> >     identifier goes into the second line.
> 
> As you are adding a copyright identifier, this sentence should probably
> be:
> 	For those scripts, the SPDX license identifier goes into the
> 	second line.
> 
> > +   Identifier line can be followed by another one with SPDX-FileCopyrightText.
> 
> How about:
> 
> "The license identifier line can then be followed by a
> SPDX-FileCopyrightText line if desired."

I'd write "by one of multiple" instead of "by a" as multiple copyright
owners for the same file is common in the kernel.

> > +
> >  |
> >  
> >  2. Style:
> > diff --git a/scripts/checkpatch.pl b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
> > index 362a8d1cd327..98261ee97e2b 100755
> > --- a/scripts/checkpatch.pl
> > +++ b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
> > @@ -3844,6 +3844,15 @@ sub process {
> >  			     "Misplaced SPDX-License-Identifier tag - use line $checklicenseline instead\n" . $herecurr);
> >  		}
> >  
> > +# check for unused SPDX file tags
> 
> # check for unsupported SPDX file tags

-- 
Regards,

Laurent Pinchart