Hi All,
A small query.
Can a module/file be Dual licensed(i.e BSD/GPLv2) in the upstream
Linux kernel sources?
I think it is GPLv2 only.
So does this means any dual licensed files should be aptly GPLv2 only?
Thanks,
--Pradeep
ps :- please CC me as I am not subscribed to the list.
--
Pradeep Singh Rautela
http://eagain.wordpress.com
http://emptydomain.googlepages.com
--
Are you somehow not believing the files that we have in the tree that Licensing questions would be better off asked to lawyers, not programmers. Would you ask a random group of lawyers on a public mailing list medical questions and trust their responses? good luck, greg k-h --
Um... apologies Greg.I did not mean that in any sense.I am a programmer not a lawyer. I am asking to get clear understanding of the licensing issues and I myself do not have any good understanding on dual licensing Vs GPLv2 licensing in Linux kernel. Thought what's better than hearing it straight from the dragon's mouth!!!. Sorry for the noise. Thanks, -- Pradeep Singh Rautela http://eagain.wordpress.com http://emptydomain.googlepages.com --
I share Greg's opinion that this list is not the place for getting or giving legal advice. Please _do_ consult a lawyer. In my _personal_opinion_, dual licensing gives you the right to choose between two licenses. If a file is dual licensed BSD/GPLv2, anybody (including yourself) is free to get rid of the BSD part and make it GPLv2 only. Thanks, Hans --
Thanks Hans.That clears things for a newbie like me. Regards, -- Pradeep Singh Rautela http://eagain.wordpress.com http://emptydomain.googlepages.com --
Dual licensing gives every recipient both licenses from the original author. Really? Which license or law gives you the right to change the licensing terms on code you didn't write? At least in the United States, you cannot change the licensing terms on someone else's code absent a written re-licensing agreement. Every recipient of dual-licensed creative works or elements of works can obtain rights from either license. You only need comply with the requirements of one of the licenses to obtain rights from it. If you redistribute the code, every recipient gets the same rights you got from the original authors of every creative element you redistribute. The distributor can choose by which license he obtains the right to distribute, but this has no effect on the license his recipients get! (This should be common sense. If you buy a music CD from Amazon, do you think how Amazon got the right to sell you the CD should have an effect on what you can do with the CD?) You can remove the BSD license notice, because the GPL gives you that right (it only requires you to retain notices that refer to "this License", the GPL, not other licenses). But removing a license *notice* does not change the license. (That should be common sense too.) If you modify the code, of course, they only get the rights you choose to give them to anything you added (assuming it is sufficiently creative to warrant copyright protection). Nobody can grant other people rights to your code that you don't want to grant. But you cannot add or subtract licensing terms to code you did not write (at least, neither the GPL nor the BSD license give you this right). The license grant is direct from the original author to the ultimate recipient. The GPL makes this explicit in section 6, "Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on the Program), the recipient automatically receives a license from the original licensor to copy, distribute or modify the Program subject to these terms and conditions. ...
You don't change licensing. You got choice of two licenses, and you selected one. GPL gives you right to remove the BSD licensing terms you did not choose. (People still can use the code under BSD license _if_ they know it was originally BSD/GPL.. as long as you don't modify it). -- (english) http://www.livejournal.com/~pavelmachek (cesky, pictures) http://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pavel/picture/horses/blog.html --
GPL gives you the right to remove the BSD licensing *TERMS*, but this has no effect on the actual license. The works do not become GPLv2 only just Exactly. So you *cannot* change the license, you can only remove the licensing terms. And even if you do modify it, that still has no effect on the available licenses for any creative elements you did not author. "6. Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on the Program), the recipient automatically receives a license from the original licensor to copy, distribute or modify the Program subject to these terms and conditions." For both the GPL and the BSD license, anyone who receives covered works or elements receives the offered licenses directly from the original author. There is nothing you can do to change this. Neither the BSD license nor the GPL license allow you to in any way modify the license or licenses offered by anyone else to creative elements they authored. In the United States, at least, this is not even possible without a written re-licensing agreement. The licenses always flow from each creative element's original author to the final end user. Distributors simply provide copies of the works, they do *NOT* relicense them. People who modify the works simply add and license other creative elements, they do not relicense the existing ones. DS --
Agreed. Pavel -- (english) http://www.livejournal.com/~pavelmachek (cesky, pictures) http://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pavel/picture/horses/blog.html --
On Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 7:37 AM, pradeep singh rautela There are already source files in the Linux kernel that are dual licensed. See e.g. drivers/infiniband/core/verbs.c. Note: not all licenses are compatible. License compatibility is indeed not a topic for the LKML mailing list. Bart. --
On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:07:37 +0530 The copy you submit to the kernel needs to be GPL. How you choose to licence it in addition is your business (assuming it is all your own work). Various drivers in the kernel (eg much of infiniband and ACPI) are issued by their authors with multiple licences for different projects. Alan --
Thank you for kind explanation, Alan. That helped a lot. Regards, -- Pradeep Singh Rautela http://eagain.wordpress.com http://emptydomain.googlepages.com --
