*BSD News Article 56178


Return to BSD News archive

Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.mel.connect.com.au!munnari.OZ.AU!news.hawaii.edu!ames!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!news.kei.com!nntp.coast.net!news00.sunet.se!sunic!news99.sunet.se!news.uni-c.dk!kroete2!not-for-mail
From: erik@kroete2.freinet.de (Erik Corry)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.unix.advocacy,comp.unix.misc
Subject: Re: Linux vs FreeBSD
Followup-To: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.unix.advocacy,comp.unix.misc
Date: Thu, 7 Dec 1995 00:47:41 GMT
Organization: Home
Lines: 37
Sender: news@kroete2.freinet.de (news)
Message-ID: <DJ6y7H.MIE@kroete2.freinet.de>
References: <489kuu$rbo@pelican.cs.ucla.edu> <49rm0g$o8o@daffy.anetsrvcs.uwrf.edu> <DJ2IBL.71t@nntpa.cb.att.com> <DJ3DM7.n0L@kroete2.freinet.de> <4a1s2i$4l9@zuul.nmti.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: arhppp26.uni-c.dk
X-Newsreader: TIN [UNIX 1.3 950515BETA PL0]
Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.advocacy:29362 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:9872 comp.unix.advocacy:11775 comp.unix.misc:19863

Peter da Silva (peter@nmti.com) wrote:
: In article <DJ3DM7.n0L@kroete2.freinet.de>,
: Erik Corry <erik@kroete2.freinet.de> wrote:
: > You say the FreeBSD kernel is 'unencumbered with the GPL'. The GPL
: > may be an encumberance to you, but to Linux/GNU developers, the
: > BSD license is also an encumberance: which means you can't use
: > BSD code in the Linux kernel or in a GPL'ed application.
: 
: How do you figure that?

I'm basing this on a post I have unfortunately lost from Russel
Nelson (I think. Or was it Alan Cox? I may be getting them mixed
up because of the Welsh connection). He said he had consulted
a lawyer on the subject, who told him that the prohibition
against using certain names in advertising in the BSD license
counts as an additional restriction in the sense of the GPL,
and hence they conflict.

I think this is actually generally accepted. I know of no apps
or kernels that mix GPL and BSD code, do you?

In a way its sad, but on the other hand, were the licenses
compatible, it would probably result in a tendency towards
everything becoming GPLed sooner or later, which might irritate
the BSDers. Maybe it wouldn't irritate them though. If they
don't mind their code ending up in a proprietary product,
why should they mind it ending up in a GPLed product?

Of course, if you do it right a loadable module for the Linux
kernel can be under any license. Thus there are commercial
binary-only device drivers and there's the BSD'ed PPP-LZW
compression module.

-- 
You couldn't deny that, even if you tried with both hands. -- The Red Queen
--
Erik Corry ehcorry@inet.uni-c.dk