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Re: Results of "downloading compressed program images" request


Since this is such an important question, and of growing importance at
that, I am cc-ing Richard Stallman with this to see if he wants to
respond, or at least forward a copy to the FSF legal staff for
comment.  I know that the GPL-ed libraries are intended to be used in
this way.  It has been my experience in the past that embedded
developers are leery of Gnu stuff, but this is usually because they
have heard it all their life, so to speak, but never really looked
into it.  

Richard, this is the cross-gcc mailing list, lurked on by developers
of embedded systems software.  Would you care to comment on this
situation of using FSF library code in deployed embedded systems?

>>>>> "Joel" == Joel Sherrill <joel@OARcorp.com> writes:

    Joel> On Thu, 8 Jan 1998, Robert J. Brown wrote:

    >> Why does an embedded system impose special considerations for
    >> licensing?  If you are concerned about distribution in binary
    >> only form, this is allowed, provided that you give a reference
    >> to where the source may be found.  If you make the compression
    >> routine a seperate task and tie it in with a pipeline, then you
    >> need not coply with the GPL for the rest of your system, so
    >> what is the problem?

    Joel> Someone else may be able to give a better explanation but
    Joel> let's take the Every discussion I have ever seen of the LGPL
    Joel> on-line says that if you use an LGPL'ed library in your
    Joel> application, then you must provide the proprietary part of
    Joel> your application in a form such that it can be relinked
    Joel> against the LGPL'ed code.  This allows the user to modify
    Joel> the support code your application depends upon.  If you
    Joel> think about this a while, you will realize that it means
    Joel> that a user can potentially relink your application, break
    Joel> it, and sue you for damages.  They are morally at fault and
    Joel> you may win but will end up bankrupt defending yourself.

    Joel> If this perspective is not right, then why does support code
    Joel> like libgcc.a and the gnat run-time come with disclaimers
    Joel> that linking that code in your application does not impose
    Joel> any restrictions on you.

    Joel> LGPL for example.  I have assumed for so long that the GPL
    Joel> is inappropriate for libraries and link-in code, that I have
    Joel> forgotten why it is not appropriate.  Someone on this group
    Joel> should be able to comment.

    Joel> I am sure others on the list can offer better explanations.
    Joel> If I am wrong, I would be happy to be corrected.  RTEMS is
    Joel> not under the vanilla GPL because the team viewed it as
    Joel> burdensome for fielded applications.  That is why versions
    Joel> up to 3.6.0 use a BSD-ish style license.  The upcoming
    Joel> release uses a license like the gnat run-time and libgcc.

    Joel> I dismissed kermit because I remembered that it could not be
    Joel> included in Linux distributions because of the licensing.
    Joel> That leads me to believe that its license is too restrictive
    Joel> for my purposes.
    >>  I think I commented that I did not remember the details here.
    >> Is it that each user of Kermit must download his own copy, or
    >> what?

    Joel> I was a bit lazy for not looking this up.  I should have
    Joel> been more diligent.  The license terms found on
    Joel> http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/aaxcom.html seem clear to me
    Joel> that you should not user kermit without obtaining written
    Joel> permission.  Here is an excerpt from their license which I
    Joel> think makes the Linux situation very clear:

    Joel> "Kermit software may not be distributed, remarketed,
    Joel> bundled, embedded, adapted, given away, or otherwise
    Joel> redistributed by commercial enterprises to their customers,
    Joel> clients, or prospective clients without written permission
    Joel> from the Office of Kermit Development and Distribution at
    Joel> Columbia University, which will be granted under the
    Joel> conditions enumerated in this document. Commercial
    Joel> distribution includes, but is not necessarily limited to,
    Joel> bundling of Kermit software with hardware or software
    Joel> products; furnishing Kermit software to institutions,
    Joel> government agencies, or corporations under contract;
    Joel> including Kermit software on CD-ROM distributions of any
    Joel> kind; inclusion of Kermit software by Internet Access
    Joel> Providers in software kits provided to their customers;
    Joel> embedding of Kermit software in industry-specific
    Joel> applications such as medical claims submission packages; or
    Joel> any other arrangement in which Kermit software is furnished
    Joel> to customers, clients, or prospective clients for any
    Joel> purpose. "

    Joel> --joel Joel Sherrill Director of Research & Development
    Joel> joel@OARcorp.com On-Line Applications Research Ask me about
    Joel> RTEMS: a free RTOS Huntsville AL 35805 Support Available
    Joel> (205) 722-9985