Date: 17 Dec 2001 03:10:29 -0800 From: swear@blarg.net (Gary W. Swearingen) To: Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org> Cc: chat@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: IBM's intentions with JFS (was: IBM suing (was: RMS Suing was [SUGGESTION] - JFS for FreeBSD)) Message-ID: <vmk7vm2jbu.7vm@localhost.localdomain> In-Reply-To: <4.3.2.7.2.20011217001345.00e26280@localhost> References: <20011216113458.R87600@monorchid.lemis.com> <200112170550.fBH5oea01099@aztec.santafe.edu> <4.3.2.7.2.20011216221810.031b6820@localhost> <3C1875D6.5DE4F996@mindspring.com> <20011213051012.Y56723-100000@turtle.looksharp.net> <3C186381.6AB07090@yahoo.com> <3C1875D6.5DE4F996@mindspring.com> <3C186381.6AB07090@yahoo.com> <20011214122837.O3448@monorchid.lemis.com> <3C19807D.C441F084@mindspring.com> <4.3.2.7.2.20011214175450.02da2a90@localhost> <4.3.2.7.2.20011215232233.00e74cc0@localhost> <4.3.2.7.2.20011216221810.031b6820@localhost> <4.3.2.7.2.20011217001345.00e26280@localhost>
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Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org> writes: > Not true. The FreeBSD Project would be obliged to license the entire > kernel -- source and binary -- under the GPL. A dual license should be sufficient; not that I'd like that either. (It'd be GPL like the Linux kernel, only with more BSDL code. :-) > There is a very serious issue. It contains GPLed code and has been > distributed. This means that if the GPL is legally enforceable, > every version of FreeBSD that has contained that code must be > licensed under the GPL. Serious indeed. But that last part isn't necessarily correct. Unless the copyright owners being infringed are jerks and willing and able to threaten FreeBSD owners with serious damages and penalties (which might not be serious or even non-zero now but could be serious with JFS) so that they could bully FreeBSD into re-licensing. It'd cause a huge flap. In practice, it would very likely be sufficient to just remove the GPL code. Unfortunately, another thing that happens, in practice, is that nobody wants to take any preventative steps until the wolf is at the door, after JFS, etc, are distributed with FreeBSD and legal threats must be taken seriously. (I don't know why IBM would care, but I wouldn't bet on their lawyers.) To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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