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Re: How long is it acceptable to leave *undistributable* files in the kernel package?



Joe Wreschnig wrote:
[snip]
> > What exactly are you trying to proove with the mentioned link?
> 
> People who hold copyrights on the Linux kernel view distribution of the
> kernel with proprietary firmware to be a violation of their license.
> Period. This is a fact: _Copyright holders of material Debian is
> distributing believe we are doing so in violation of the license they
> have granted us_.

They can believe what they want. But for legal relevance they have
to show how exactly the firmware was derived from the rest of the
code (or vice versa). If they can't, it is merely a collection of
works.

[snip]
> Debian has a policy of trying to honor the copyright holder's
> interpretation of a license, both because we want to avoid lawsuits, and
> because (I like to think) we like to be nice to the developers whose
> software we distribute.

And this should as well respect the interpretation of the copyright
holder who put the firmware in his driver, instead of accusing him
to breach copyright law without proof.


Thiemo

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