On Friday 16 April 2004 7:01 am, Andreas Barth wrote: > However, in the case like the NVidia driver (where Linus himself said > that they are not derived), or also for some of the binary blobs, If you're referring to the post I'm thinking of, he didn't say they weren't derived. In fact, it sounds like he was a bit torn on the issue. Some quotes from <http://lkml.org/lkml/2003/12/5/125>: "But what they do NOT have the right to do is to create derivative works of the kernel, and distribute them to others. That act of distribution is not essential _for_them_ to utilize the kernel program (while the act of _receiving_ the module and using it may be - so the recipient may well be in the clear)." ... "So in order for nVidia to be able to legally distribute a binary-only kernel module, they have to be able to feel damn sure that they can explain (in a court of law, if necessary) that the module isn't a derived work. Enough to convince a judge. That's really all that matters. Our blathering matters not at all." ... and ... "And quite frankly, my largest reason for not complaining loudly has often been that I'm lazy, and in several cases of sme people using GPL'd work improperly I have been ready to join a lawsuit that somebody else initiates. So far people have tended to back down." -- Wesley J. Landaker <wjl@icecavern.net> OpenPGP FP: 4135 2A3B 4726 ACC5 9094 0097 F0A9 8A4C 4CD6 E3D2
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