On Mon, 21 Jan 2008, Esben Nielsen wrote: > > Please, tell what in the license forbids me to make a global replacement > EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL -> EXPORT_SYMBOL and distribute the result? If you want to distribute that code, the authors of that said code may be able to challenge you in saying that you are enabling a means to circumvent a way around the license, and hold you liable. Remember, all it takes is one country with the laws that will grant this complaint. > > For me, on the other hand, it is against the spirit of free software to > actively make a block for people to do what ever they want with the code > when they are only doing it to themselves. That includes loading non-GPL > software into the kernel. The only thing they are not allowed to do is to > distribute it and in that way "hurt" other people. Honestly, I don't care which export it is. The thing is that I derived that code from someone else. I did not look up the original author of the code to find out which export they would like it to be. I may be able to argue that since it was under a LGPL and not a GPL license, I may very well be able to export it that way. I'm taking the safe way out. By exporting it as EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL, I am safe either way. By exporting it as EXPORT_SYMBOL without first hearing from the original author (and getting that in writing), or hearing it from a lawyer, I may be putting myself at risk. Feel free to creating a version of this code and s/EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL/EXPORT_SYMBOL/ and distribute it. I wont come after you for that, but at least I know those that would, will go after you and not me. Call me a chicken, I don't care, but I'm just not going to put myself nor my company I work for, at risk over this issue. -- Steve - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-rt-users" in the body of a message to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
