RE: Copyright infringement in linux/drivers/usb/serial/keyspan*fw.h
i wonder if it would be worth speaking with the people from keyspan/etc. and
explaining the problem to them? who knows - an appropriately worded message
(or 10) would probably convince them to release it under a less restrictive
license. the code itself isn't very useful is it? then again it's binary
only, isn't it.
i'd be inclined to leave the kernel source alone as if it's ok for AC then
it should be ok for us too. i don't think there's much risk in doing this as
about the worst that is likely to happen is a take down order. having said
that i'm all for filing it as a bug, but i'd give it a fairly low priority
(non-critical/wishlist).
if we make a habit of respecting such licenses to the letter (usb/dvd/etc.)
then we're going to end up with one very boring/unfriendly O/S indeed. (yeah
your device is supported but first you need to go download a few bytes of
firmware from X, and recompile a module or the kernel itself).
- samj
-----Original Message-----
From: Walter Landry [mailto:landry@physics.utah.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, 24 April 2001 2:04 PM
To: debian-legal@lists.debian.org
Subject: Re: Copyright infringement in
linux/drivers/usb/serial/keyspan*fw.h
Adam J. Richter wrote:
Linus's Linux kernel releases from 2.3.50 through the latest
test release (2.4.4-pre6) contain GPL-incompatible "firmware" images
for "EZUSB" devices in linux/drivers/usb/serial/keyspan*fw.h, which
are #included into drivers which contain GPL'ed code, even when compiled
as modules.
The specific licenses that Adam is talking about are
/*
* keyspan_pda_fw.h
*
* Generated from keyspan_pda.s by ezusb_convert.pl
* This file is presumed to be under the same copyright as the source file
* from which it was derived.
*/
and then a number of licenses that look like
/* keyspan_usa18x_fw.h
Generated from Keyspan firmware image Wed Jul 5 09:18:29 2000 EST
This firmware is for the Keyspan USA-18X Serial Adaptor
"The firmware contained herein as keyspan_usa18x_fw.h is
Copyright (C) 1999-2000 Keyspan, A division of InnoSys Incorporated
("Keyspan"), as an unpublished work. This notice does not imply
unrestricted or public access to this firmware which is a trade secret of
Keyspan, and which may not be reproduced, used, sold or transferred to
any
third party without Keyspan's prior written consent. All Rights
Reserved.
This firmware may not be modified and may only be used with the Keyspan
USA-18X Serial Adapter. Distribution and/or Modification of the
keyspan.c driver which includes this firmware, in whole or in part,
requires the inclusion of this statement."
*/
I got these straight from kernel-source-2.4.3_2.4.3.orig.tar.gz. The
first one is, at least, unclear. The second one, on the other hand,
is a clearly non-free license. Neither Debian nor it's mirrors have
permission to distribute it at all. This is separate from whether it
is DFSG compliant or GPL-compatible or not. This also means that
Debian can't even distribute the original source tar-ball. Debian has
no permission at all. If no one complains, I'll file bugs against
kernel-source-2.4.0
kernel-source-2.4.1
kernel-source-2.4.2
kernel-source-2.4.3
kernel-image-2.4.2-386 2.4.2-1
kernel-image-2.4.2-586 2.4.2-1
kernel-image-2.4.2-586tsc 2.4.2-1
kernel-image-2.4.2-686 2.4.2-1
kernel-image-2.4.2-686-smp 2.4.2-1
kernel-image-2.4.2-k6 2.4.2-1
kernel-image-2.4.2-k7 2.4.2-1
kernel-image-2.4.2-pentium4 2.4.2-1
kernel-image-2.4.2-pentiumiii 2.4.2-1
kernel-image-2.4.2-pentiumiii-smp 2.4.2-1
kernel-image-2.4.3-386 2.4.3-2
kernel-image-2.4.3-586 2.4.3-2
kernel-image-2.4.3-586tsc 2.4.3-2
kernel-image-2.4.3-686 2.4.3-2
kernel-image-2.4.3-686-smp 2.4.3-2
kernel-image-2.4.3-k6 2.4.3-2
kernel-image-2.4.3-k7 2.4.3-2
kernel-image-2.4.3-pentium4 2.4.3-2
kernel-image-2.4.3-pentiumiii 2.4.3-1
kernel-image-2.4.3-pentiumiii-smp 2.4.3-1
(Yes, we do have too many kernel images)
Regards,
Walter Landry
landry@physics.utah.edu
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