Differences between version 4 and revision by previous author of GeneralPublicLicense.
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| Newer page: | version 4 | Last edited on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 12:52:37 pm | by JohnMcPherson | Revert |
| Older page: | version 2 | Last edited on Thursday, December 4, 2003 7:45:16 pm | by AristotlePagaltzis | Revert |
@@ -33,16 +33,11 @@
!!! Some Common Misconceptions
!If I write a program for [Linux] then I have to give away the source code!
-This is not true at all. Only UserSpace programs that use [GPL]'d code (either staticly
or dynamicly
) need to also be under the GPL. (For example, the c library is under the [LGPL] which allows non-GPL programs to link to it, while the GNU readline library is under the GPL and does not allow that). The following quote is from the top of /usr/src/linux/COPYING which is LinusTorvalds' copyright licence over the LinuxKernel (this quote is then followed by the GPL):
+This is not true at all. Only UserSpace programs that use [GPL]'d code (either statically
or dynamically
) need to also be under the GPL. (For example, the c library is under the [LGPL] which allows non-GPL programs to link to it, while the GNU readline library is under the GPL and does not allow that). The following quote is from the top of /usr/src/linux/COPYING which is LinusTorvalds' copyright licence over the LinuxKernel (this quote is then followed by the GPL):
-
NOTE! This copyright does *not* cover user programs that use kernel
-
services by normal system calls - this is merely considered normal use
-
of the kernel, and does *not* fall under the heading of "derived work".
-
Also note that the GPL below is copyrighted by the Free Software
-
Foundation, but the instance of code that it refers to (the Linux
-
kernel) is copyrighted by me and others who actually wrote it.
+;:
NOTE! This copyright does *not* cover user programs that use kernel
services by normal system calls - this is merely considered normal use of the kernel, and does *not* fall under the heading of "derived work". Also note that the GPL below is copyrighted by the Free Software Foundation, but the instance of code that it refers to (the Linux kernel) is copyrighted by me and others who actually wrote it.
Well-known closed-source applications for [Linux] include [Oracle] and [Quake]2 (although quake2 has since been released under the GPL).
@@ -52,7 +47,10 @@
;From section 2 of the GPL: "If identifiable sections of that work are not derived from the Program, and can be reasonably considered independent and separate works in themselves, then this License, and its terms, do not apply to those sections when you distribute them as separate works. But when you distribute the same sections as part of a whole which is a work based on the Program, the distribution of the whole must be on the terms of this License, whose permissions for other licensees extend to the entire whole, and thus to each and every part regardless of who wrote it."
This is why NVidia make a closed-source binary Linux driver for their graphics cards, but users have to download it separately; no distribution is allowed to make it available with the GPL'd linux kernel.
+
+
+See http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20031214210634851&mode=nocomment for a nice background clarification of the GPL (from a copyright law point-of-view).
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Part of CategoryLicense
