From patchwork Thu May 17 17:33:08 2012 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Patchwork-Submitter: Luca Ceresoli X-Patchwork-Id: 159989 Return-Path: X-Original-To: incoming@patchwork.ozlabs.org Delivered-To: patchwork-incoming@bilbo.ozlabs.org Received: from hemlock.osuosl.org (hemlock.osuosl.org [140.211.166.133]) by ozlabs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 8202DB6FA3 for ; Fri, 18 May 2012 03:35:29 +1000 (EST) Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by hemlock.osuosl.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9C9CBA03B7; Thu, 17 May 2012 17:35:28 +0000 (UTC) X-Virus-Scanned: amavisd-new at osuosl.org Received: from hemlock.osuosl.org ([127.0.0.1]) by localhost (.osuosl.org [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with ESMTP id XXCcC7k-famp; Thu, 17 May 2012 17:35:24 +0000 (UTC) Received: from ash.osuosl.org (ash.osuosl.org [140.211.166.34]) by hemlock.osuosl.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 73AB2A03FC; Thu, 17 May 2012 17:34:13 +0000 (UTC) X-Original-To: buildroot@lists.busybox.net Delivered-To: buildroot@osuosl.org Received: from whitealder.osuosl.org (whitealder.osuosl.org [140.211.166.138]) by ash.osuosl.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id EB5638F753 for ; Thu, 17 May 2012 17:33:56 +0000 (UTC) Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by whitealder.osuosl.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id D4E9687A94 for ; Thu, 17 May 2012 17:33:56 +0000 (UTC) X-Virus-Scanned: amavisd-new at osuosl.org Received: from whitealder.osuosl.org ([127.0.0.1]) by localhost (.osuosl.org [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with ESMTP id qYwp3bot7+eU for ; Thu, 17 May 2012 17:33:52 +0000 (UTC) X-Greylist: domain auto-whitelisted by SQLgrey-1.7.6 Received: from smtpi4.ngi.it (smtpi4.ngi.it [88.149.128.104]) by whitealder.osuosl.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 63EB88C85F for ; Thu, 17 May 2012 17:33:49 +0000 (UTC) Received: from localhost.localdomain (88-149-225-112.dynamic.ngi.it [88.149.225.112]) by smtpi4.ngi.it (Postfix) with ESMTP id 127CB4201F; Thu, 17 May 2012 19:33:48 +0200 (CEST) From: Luca Ceresoli To: buildroot@busybox.net Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 19:33:08 +0200 Message-Id: <1337276001-26149-10-git-send-email-luca@lucaceresoli.net> X-Mailer: git-send-email 1.7.9.5 In-Reply-To: <1337276001-26149-1-git-send-email-luca@lucaceresoli.net> References: <1337276001-26149-1-git-send-email-luca@lucaceresoli.net> Cc: Luca Ceresoli Subject: [Buildroot] [PATCH v4 09/22] manual: add advice about GPL compliance for Buildroot X-BeenThere: buildroot@busybox.net X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussion and development of buildroot List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , MIME-Version: 1.0 Errors-To: buildroot-bounces@busybox.net Sender: buildroot-bounces@busybox.net Signed-off-by: Luca Ceresoli Acked-by: Thomas De Schampheleire Acked-by: Arnout Vandecappelle (Essensium/Mind) --- docs/manual/using.txt | 27 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 27 insertions(+) diff --git a/docs/manual/using.txt b/docs/manual/using.txt index 42d4061..fcbd24b 100644 --- a/docs/manual/using.txt +++ b/docs/manual/using.txt @@ -284,3 +284,30 @@ Buildroot, with the name used in the manifest file: * +BSD-2c+: BSD 2-clause license; * +PROPRIETARY+: marks a non-opensource package; Buildroot does not save any licensing info or source code for these packages. + +Complying with the Buildroot license +------------------------------------ + +Buildroot itself is an opensource software, released under the +http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html[GNU General Public +License, version 2] or (at your option) any later version. +However, being a build system, it is not normally part of the end product: +if you develop the root filesystem, kernel, bootloader or toolchain for a +device, the code of Buildroot is only present on the development machine, not +in the device storage. + +Nevertheless, the general view of the Buildroot developers is that you should +release the Buildroot source code along with the source code of other packages +when releasing a product that contains GPL-licensed software. +This is because the +http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html[GNU GPL] +defines the "'complete source code'" for an executable work as "'all the +source code for all modules it contains, plus any associated interface +definition files, plus the scripts used to control compilation and installation +of the executable'". +Buildroot is part of the 'scripts used to control compilation and +installation of the executable', and as such it is considered part of the +material that must be redistributed. + +Keep in mind this is only the Buildroot developers' opinion, and you should +consult your legal department or lawyer in case of any doubt.