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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