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From: "Serge A. Babkin" <babkin@hq.icb.chel.su>
Message-Id: <199505101041.PAA04312@hq.icb.chel.su>
Subject: Re: A question of downloading device drivers
To: terry@cs.weber.edu (Terry Lambert)
Date: Wed, 10 May 1995 15:41:57 +0500 (GMT+0500)
Cc: hackers@FreeBSD.org
In-Reply-To: <9505100207.AA20621@cs.weber.edu> from "Terry Lambert" at May 9, 95 08:07:42 pm
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> 
> > >This was a conscious choice for the AIC7770 support.  The POST on the
> > 
> > A conscious choice on the part of Adaptec or the developer?
> 
> The developer.  Note I did *not* say "a bad choice"... I render no
> judgment other than to note that the static inclusion of that code
> in binary form puts kernels distributed with it under obligation
> to the GPL as long as it remains GPL'ed code.  For the CDROM
> distribution, this isn't a problem, but FTP code could be.

Isn't the downloadable code a part of device ? If the card can't work
without this code and this code is supplied by the hardware manufacturer
inside drivers included in the standard package with the card, probably
we may say that any buyer of the card buys this code too. This code
is absolutely useless without a card. So can we say that this code is
a part of the card ? And gives this a possibility to distribute it freely ?

I'm sorry if I said complete heck, I don't know a lot about all these
copyright laws.


		Serge Babkin

! (babkin@hq.icb.chel.su)
! Headquarter of Joint Stock Commercial Bank "Chelindbank"
! Chelyabinsk, Russia