Re: Are BLOBs source code?

[Florian Weimer <fw@deneb.enyo.de>]

* Goswin von Brederlow:

>>> That's why I say the BLOB should be in a file rather than the driver. 
>>
>> The problem is that this introduces unnecessary complexity.  If the
>> blob is required for booting, it has to be put into the initial
>> ramdisk anyway, and a fail to see a significant advantage over the
>> compiled-in case (neither legally nor philosophically).
>
> Compiled in the blob MUST comply to the GPL. The nature of being a
> blob already seems to violate that.
>
> As external files other licenses can be used.

I'm not sure that there is a significant difference between ELF
linking and other forms of creating a combined file (the initial RAM
disk is likely to contain GPL-covered software, too, and for these
programs, we won't have the implicit permission to ignore some GPL
requirements).