From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id ; Tue, 28 May 2002 13:13:36 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id ; Tue, 28 May 2002 13:13:35 -0400 Received: from h-64-105-136-78.SNVACAID.covad.net ([64.105.136.78]:38817 "EHLO freya.yggdrasil.com") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id ; Tue, 28 May 2002 13:13:34 -0400 Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 10:13:11 -0700 From: "Adam J. Richter" Message-Id: <200205281713.KAA22774@freya.yggdrasil.com> To: alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk Subject: Re: business models [was patent stuff] Cc: gilad@benyossef.com, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, lm@bitmover.com, phillips@bonn-fries.net Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Alan Cox responds to Gilad Ben-Yossef about licensing of Linux-based patents: >I don't think you can realistically expect all open source licenses like >the BSD one to be accomodated. Otherwise people would ship binary apps >linked with a BSD licensed libpatent.o/c that was useless to anyone. The >GPL restrictions happen to work very nicely in terms of making a patent >available for free software (or one definition thereof), the BSD license >alas doesn't. You could license all programs that consist entirely of free software. That way, BSD, LGPL, and MPL software that did not link in proprietary software would be allowed too, but your example of a proprietary program that linked in the BSD'ed libpatent.o/c would not be covered by this permission. Licensing all programs that consist entirely of free software would address issues like GPL'ed software that contains content that is GPL compatible but not GPL'ed, future versions of the GPL, what happens if a court ruling opens a loophole in the GPL, and practicing the patent with free software in other free operating systems. Adam J. Richter __ ______________ 575 Oroville Road adam@yggdrasil.com \ / Milpitas, California 95035 +1 408 309-6081 | g g d r a s i l United States of America "Free Software For The Rest Of Us."