I would like to provide a bit of clarification. That is a license we put on a
large amount of our software products (if there is even a license slapped on
there at all). We are want to deter people from using our code on products
that are not ours. Since you are here and asking about it, we likely have no
reason to be concerned that you are using it.
We actually tend to dual-license our kernel code, GPL to the linux community,
and BSD to our customers specifically. This allows our end customers to have
proprietary aspect to their products. All of the sources on our FTP site are
considered to be under BSD, but only when used with our products. We actually
leave a big scary license block in place to scare off those not using our
products, and when customers call up and ask we can clarify that for them.
-Kris Bahnsen
Technologic Systems
--- In Wouter Simons <> wrote:
>
> It is Legal to use kernel drivers with closed source drivers as long as it is
> defined in the module source with MODULE_LICENSE("<license>"); This is
> actually used quite a lot even though a closed source driver will have
> restrictions in how it can interact with other systems (mainly exporting
> symbols will not work as expected).
>
> Just think of your NVidia drivers for instance.
>
> This is particularly useful for modules that are developed in embedded
> environments because you may be putting proprietary code in a kernel module
> for your application that contains trade secrets. So allowing non-GPL code in
> the kernel actually facilitates using Linux in restrictive closed source
> commercial environments.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Wouter
>
> Van: Namens Jason
> Stahls
> Verzonden: maandag 13 december 2010 1:26
> Aan:
> Onderwerp: Re: [ts-7000] SW license
>
>
>
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> >> I see the same notice in the board-specific OpenCore-files i've been
> >> working on (fpga).
> >>
> >> It would be very interesting if someone from TS could clarify how "CONTAINS
> >> CONFIDENTIAL,
> >> PROPRIETARY AND TRADE SECRET INFORMATION OF TECHNOLOGIC SYSTEMS" should be
> >> interpreted and related to, and if there is a general "PRIOR WRITTEN
> >> PERMISSION AND CONSENT OF TECHNOLOGIC SYSTEMS" for the files available from
> >> the ftp.
> >>
> >
> > If this is being distributed as part of Linux binaries, compiled into a
> > kernel they are providing then clearly it is a GPL violation. You can't add
> > propreitary extensions to the Linux kernel. You must make the source
> > available to all those you provide binaries to, and it must be licensed
> > under the GPL. Putting any restrictions on code distributed as part of Linux
> > is not permitted.
>
> That's not totally accurate AFAIK, but ether way both of the examples
> given so far weren't kernel modules, or patches to GPL software. What
> TS chooses to expose about their FPGA loads is their business and the
> other C source file sure didn't look to be a patch or kernel module. You
> can put restrictions on a Linux distro by including proprietary or
> non-GPL binaries, you just have to make available all the GPL source and
> any patches you made to any GPL code. If your binaries don't contain
> any GPL modules or code you're free to keep it's source as tightly
> locked up as you want. This whole bit is one of the really big problems
> with the GPL since even patent/copyright lawyers can't seem to agree on
> exactly how far it spans and if using GPL'd libc functions makes your
> app fall into GPL ect.
>
> - --
> Jason Stahls
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