@@ -134,11 +134,13 @@ Buildroot, with the name used in the manifest files:
http://apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html[
Apache License, version 2.0];
+[[legal-info-buildroot]]
=== Complying with the Buildroot license
Buildroot itself is an open source 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.
+http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html[GNU General
+Public License, version 2] or (at your option) any later version, with
+the exception of the package patches detailed below.
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
@@ -159,3 +161,14 @@ material that must be redistributed.
Keep in mind that this is only the Buildroot developers' opinion, and you
should consult your legal department or lawyer in case of any doubt.
+
+==== Patches to packages
+
+Buildroot also bundles patch files, which are applied to the sources
+of the various packages. Those patches are not covered by the license
+of Buildroot. Instead, they are covered by the license of the software
+to which the patches are applied. When said software is available
+under multiple licenses, the Buildroot patches are only provided under
+the publicly accessible licenses.
+
+See xref:patch-policy[] for the technical details.
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ If something goes wrong in the steps _3_ or _4_, then the build fails.
=== Format and licensing of the package patches
Patches are released under the same license as the software they apply
-to.
+to (see xref:legal-info-buildroot[]).
A message explaining what the patch does, and why it is needed, should
be added in the header commentary of the patch.
Use the same text that is used in COPYING. Signed-off-by: Luca Ceresoli <luca@lucaceresoli.net> Cc: "Yann E. MORIN" <yann.morin.1998@free.fr> Cc: Arnout Vandecappelle (Essensium/Mind) <arnout@mind.be> Cc: Peter Korsgaard <peter@korsgaard.com> Cc: Thomas Petazzoni <thomas.petazzoni@free-electrons.com> Cc: Steve Calfee <stevecalfee@gmail.com> --- Changes v3 -> v4: - entirely replace with the same text approved for COPYING (Yann), but keeping the hyperlink to patch-policy. Changes v2 -> v3: - various wording improvements (Yann, Arnout). Changes v1 -> v2: - "they modify" -> "they apply to" (Thomas). --- docs/manual/legal-notice.txt | 17 +++++++++++++++-- docs/manual/patch-policy.txt | 2 +- 2 files changed, 16 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)