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Date:      14 Dec 2001 23:48:52 -0800
From:      swear@blarg.net (Gary W. Swearingen)
To:        Greg Lehey <grog@FreeBSD.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:  <b8itb89b4r.tb8@localhost.localdomain>
In-Reply-To: <20011215103210.G85108@monorchid.lemis.com>
References:  <3C186381.6AB07090@yahoo.com> <3C1875D6.5DE4F996@mindspring.com> <1id71idej9.71i@localhost.localdomain> <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> <20011215103210.G85108@monorchid.lemis.com>

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Greg Lehey <grog@FreeBSD.org> writes:

> On Thursday, 13 December 2001 at 23:49:37 -0800, Gary W. Swearingen wrote:
> >
> > If the loader, then the kernel too.
> 
> No, of course not.  That would imply that anything you run under the
> kernel also has to be GPLd.  The loader and kernel are two very
> different beasts.  You can load FreeBSD with the Linux loader.  Does
> that make FreeBSD GPLd?

Maybe the GPL IS that contageous; how can one know?  But I was just
viewing the loader, kernel, and JFS module, stored together there
in a small single-purpose portion of the disk, which loads and runs as a
single program as nothing essentially different than a statically linked
program and therefor would seem to require licensing as a whole.
I hate to think that such combining of software creates a derivative,
but it seems to be the law.  Another reason to avoid nasty licenses.

You're last question is intriguing.  Who is authorized to say that the
LILO-FreeBSD combination isn't a single, derived program, worthy of a
single license?  The GPL's narrow exception for OS-related software
surely doesn't apply here, not the least because it says it doesn't
apply when they are distributed together.  Yikes.  It's a good thing
there's no big money involved in all this and most people don't care.

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