Misunderstanding of embedded system designers [LWN.net]

Misunderstanding of embedded system designers

Posted Jan 19, 2006 15:08 UTC (Thu) by karim (subscriber, #114)
In reply to: Misunderstanding of embedded system designers by hingo
Parent article: GPLv3: a first look

Are you telling me that in your view a software license can actually
dictate a hardware license?

Sorry, as a software publisher you have the right to dictate how
your work is being used, not other people's work -- lest you are
telling me that the GPL3 is a DRM tool itself.

Given that the kernel is not touched in any way and that no part of
it is implementing the software-side of the DRM, there is nothing
that precludes a designer to control the layer beneath the kernel
(i.e. the hardware) and the layer that's over the kernel (i.e. his
applications) as he sees fit. In fact, I'm pretty sure (though I'm
not a lawyer and this is not legal counsel) that if you did try
what you allude to -- using the kernel to circumvent the user-
space DRM -- you'd probably fall under the DMCA ...

Have all the fun you want, but this isn't a loophole, it's just
something the GPL cannot, to the best of my understanding, legally
cover.

Karim

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Misunderstanding of embedded system designers

Posted Jan 19, 2006 20:52 UTC (Thu) by Fats (subscriber, #14882) [Link]

"Sorry, as a software publisher you have the right to dictate how
your work is being used, not other people's work -- lest you are
telling me that the GPL3 is a DRM tool itself."

You distribute the GPL3 code with the hardware. If you do something in the hardware that is incompatible with the GPL3 license of the software there is a provision in the license that forces you to not distribute the GPL3 software. You are free to distribute the hardware but not the accompanying GPL3 software. Don't know if this applies to this specific case though.