[Buildroot] [PATCH 0/5] Patch file clarification & Co

[Buildroot] [PATCH 0/5] Patch file clarification & Co

[Luca Ceresoli]

Hi,

several Buildroot users reportedly asked details about how the patches
bundled with Buildroot are licensed.

Following the discussion during the Buildroot Developer Days today,
this small series is aimed at clarifying patch licensing in the places
where it makes sense: COPYING, the manual and the legal-info output.

Note that patches are not saved by 'make legal-info' in current
Buildroot, but there's a patchset by Yann E. Morin to add this
feature. Patch 5 of the present series applies to legal-info, and it
only applies on top of Yann's series (it would be useless on amster
anyway). Patches 1-4 apply also on current master.

Luca Ceresoli (5):
  Update copyright year
  docs/manual: slightly clarify patch licensing
  COPYING: add exception about patch licensing
  docs/manual: add section about patch licensing
  legal-info: explicitly state how patches are licensed

 COPYING                          | 10 ++++++++++
 Makefile                         |  2 +-
 docs/manual/legal-notice.txt     | 16 ++++++++++++++--
 docs/manual/patch-policy.txt     |  4 ++--
 support/legal-info/README.header |  2 +-
 5 files changed, 28 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

-- 
1.9.1

[Buildroot] [PATCH 1/5] Update copyright year

[Luca Ceresoli]

Signed-off-by: Luca Ceresoli <luca@lucaceresoli.net>
---
 Makefile | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index c3427ed..1acc2b2 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #
 # Copyright (C) 1999-2005 by Erik Andersen <andersen@codepoet.org>
 # Copyright (C) 2006-2014 by the Buildroot developers <buildroot@uclibc.org>
-# Copyright (C) 2014-2015 by the Buildroot developers <buildroot@buildroot.org>
+# Copyright (C) 2014-2016 by the Buildroot developers <buildroot@buildroot.org>
 #
 # This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
 # it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-- 
1.9.1

[Buildroot] [PATCH 2/5] docs/manual: slightly clarify patch licensing

[Luca Ceresoli]

Adding a patch is a modification to Buildroot. Thus this sentence might be
interpreted as "Patches are released under the Buildroot license".

Being a legal matter, the last thing we want is to be
ambiguous. Reword the sentence to avoid any misunderstandings.

Signed-off-by: Luca Ceresoli <luca@lucaceresoli.net>
---
 docs/manual/patch-policy.txt | 4 ++--
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt b/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt
index 0b4604e..cfda5c5 100644
--- a/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt
+++ b/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt
@@ -90,8 +90,8 @@ 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 that is
-modified.
+Patches are released under the same license as the software that they
+modify.
 
 A message explaining what the patch does, and why it is needed, should
 be added in the header commentary of the patch.
-- 
1.9.1

[Buildroot] [PATCH 3/5] COPYING: add exception about patch licensing

[Luca Ceresoli]

Several people have been asking what is the license of the patches
provided by Buildroot. COPYING is the authoritative place to state this.

Signed-off-by: Luca Ceresoli <luca@lucaceresoli.net>
---
 COPYING | 10 ++++++++++
 1 file changed, 10 insertions(+)

diff --git a/COPYING b/COPYING
index d511905..8f2ba0b 100644
--- a/COPYING
+++ b/COPYING
@@ -1,3 +1,13 @@
+Except for the below exception, Buildroot is licensed under the GNU
+General Public License, version 2, whose text is reported below.
+
+Exception:
+
+- Patches provided by Buildroot for packages are released under the
+  same license as the software that they modify.
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------
+
 		    GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
 		       Version 2, June 1991
 
-- 
1.9.1

[Buildroot] [PATCH 4/5] docs/manual: add section about patch licensing

[Luca Ceresoli]

Signed-off-by: Luca Ceresoli <luca@lucaceresoli.net>
---
 docs/manual/legal-notice.txt | 16 ++++++++++++++--
 docs/manual/patch-policy.txt |  2 +-
 2 files changed, 15 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/docs/manual/legal-notice.txt b/docs/manual/legal-notice.txt
index 5895224..e82f8a7 100644
--- a/docs/manual/legal-notice.txt
+++ b/docs/manual/legal-notice.txt
@@ -131,11 +131,13 @@ 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
@@ -156,3 +158,13 @@ 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 is bundled with a set of patches that it applies to packages
+to fix cross-compilation or other issues. See xref:patch-policy[] for
+the technical details.
+
+These patches are effectively a derived work of the upstream package,
+and they are released under the same license as the software that they
+modify. They are not distributed under the Buildroot license.
diff --git a/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt b/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt
index cfda5c5..135b23f 100644
--- a/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt
+++ b/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt
@@ -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 that they
-modify.
+modify (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.
-- 
1.9.1

[Buildroot] [PATCH 5/5] legal-info: explicitly state how patches are licensed

[Luca Ceresoli]

Signed-off-by: Luca Ceresoli <luca@lucaceresoli.net>
Cc: "Yann E. MORIN" <yann.morin.1998@free.fr>
---
 support/legal-info/README.header | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/support/legal-info/README.header b/support/legal-info/README.header
index 0b5aa66..316f799 100644
--- a/support/legal-info/README.header
+++ b/support/legal-info/README.header
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ This material is composed of the following items.
    sources/ subdirectory (except for the non-redistributable packages, which
    have not been saved). Patches that were applied are also saved, along
    with a file named 'series' that lists the patches in the order they were
-   applied.
+   applied. Patches are under the same license as the original package.
  * A manifest file listing the configured packages and related information.
  * The license text of the packages; they have been saved in the licenses/
    subdirectory.
-- 
1.9.1

[Buildroot] [PATCH 2/5] docs/manual: slightly clarify patch licensing

[Thomas Petazzoni]

Luca,

On Mon,  1 Feb 2016 15:52:21 +0100, Luca Ceresoli wrote:
> Adding a patch is a modification to Buildroot. Thus this sentence might be
> interpreted as "Patches are released under the Buildroot license".
> 
> Being a legal matter, the last thing we want is to be
> ambiguous. Reword the sentence to avoid any misunderstandings.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Luca Ceresoli <luca@lucaceresoli.net>
> ---
>  docs/manual/patch-policy.txt | 4 ++--
>  1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt b/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt
> index 0b4604e..cfda5c5 100644
> --- a/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt
> +++ b/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt
> @@ -90,8 +90,8 @@ 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 that is
> -modified.
> +Patches are released under the same license as the software that they
> +modify.

"as the software that they apply to" ?

Thomas
-- 
Thomas Petazzoni, CTO, Free Electrons
Embedded Linux, Kernel and Android engineering
http://free-electrons.com

[Buildroot] [PATCH 3/5] COPYING: add exception about patch licensing

[Thomas Petazzoni]

Dear Luca Ceresoli,

On Mon,  1 Feb 2016 15:52:22 +0100, Luca Ceresoli wrote:
> Several people have been asking what is the license of the patches
> provided by Buildroot. COPYING is the authoritative place to state this.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Luca Ceresoli <luca@lucaceresoli.net>
> ---
>  COPYING | 10 ++++++++++
>  1 file changed, 10 insertions(+)
> 
> diff --git a/COPYING b/COPYING
> index d511905..8f2ba0b 100644
> --- a/COPYING
> +++ b/COPYING
> @@ -1,3 +1,13 @@
> +Except for the below exception, Buildroot is licensed under the GNU
> +General Public License, version 2, whose text is reported below.

is "reported" the right word here ?

Thomas
-- 
Thomas Petazzoni, CTO, Free Electrons
Embedded Linux, Kernel and Android engineering
http://free-electrons.com

[Buildroot] [PATCH 4/5] docs/manual: add section about patch licensing

[Thomas Petazzoni]

Dear Luca Ceresoli,

On Mon,  1 Feb 2016 15:52:23 +0100, Luca Ceresoli wrote:
> Signed-off-by: Luca Ceresoli <luca@lucaceresoli.net>
> ---
>  docs/manual/legal-notice.txt | 16 ++++++++++++++--
>  docs/manual/patch-policy.txt |  2 +-
>  2 files changed, 15 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

>  Patches are released under the same license as the software that they
> -modify.
> +modify (see xref:legal-info-buildroot[]).

apply to ?

Other than that:

Acked-by: Thomas Petazzoni <thomas.petazzoni@free-electrons.com>

Thanks!

Thomas
-- 
Thomas Petazzoni, CTO, Free Electrons
Embedded Linux, Kernel and Android engineering
http://free-electrons.com

[Buildroot] [PATCH 5/5] legal-info: explicitly state how patches are licensed

[Thomas Petazzoni]

Dear Luca Ceresoli,

On Mon,  1 Feb 2016 15:52:24 +0100, Luca Ceresoli wrote:
> Signed-off-by: Luca Ceresoli <luca@lucaceresoli.net>
> Cc: "Yann E. MORIN" <yann.morin.1998@free.fr>
> ---
>  support/legal-info/README.header | 2 +-
>  1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

Acked-by: Thomas Petazzoni <thomas.petazzoni@free-electrons.com>
-- 
Thomas Petazzoni, CTO, Free Electrons
Embedded Linux, Kernel and Android engineering
http://free-electrons.com

[Buildroot] [PATCH 2/5] docs/manual: slightly clarify patch licensing

[Luca Ceresoli]

Hi Thomas,

Thomas Petazzoni wrote:
> Luca,
>
> On Mon,  1 Feb 2016 15:52:21 +0100, Luca Ceresoli wrote:
>> Adding a patch is a modification to Buildroot. Thus this sentence might be
>> interpreted as "Patches are released under the Buildroot license".
>>
>> Being a legal matter, the last thing we want is to be
>> ambiguous. Reword the sentence to avoid any misunderstandings.
>>
>> Signed-off-by: Luca Ceresoli <luca@lucaceresoli.net>
>> ---
>>   docs/manual/patch-policy.txt | 4 ++--
>>   1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
>>
>> diff --git a/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt b/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt
>> index 0b4604e..cfda5c5 100644
>> --- a/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt
>> +++ b/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt
>> @@ -90,8 +90,8 @@ 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 that is
>> -modified.
>> +Patches are released under the same license as the software that they
>> +modify.
>
> "as the software that they apply to" ?

Indeed, they don't modify any file, `patch` does it! :)

Seriously, your version is better. We can even ditch "that":
"as the software they apply to".

Will fix and resend.

-- 
Luca

[Buildroot] [PATCH 5/5] legal-info: explicitly state how patches are licensed

[Yann E. MORIN]

Luca, All,

On 2016-02-01 15:52 +0100, Luca Ceresoli spake thusly:
> Signed-off-by: Luca Ceresoli <luca@lucaceresoli.net>
> Cc: "Yann E. MORIN" <yann.morin.1998@free.fr>

Acked-by: "Yann E. MORIN" <yann.morin.1998@free.fr>

Regards,
Yann E. MORIN.

> ---
>  support/legal-info/README.header | 2 +-
>  1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)
> 
> diff --git a/support/legal-info/README.header b/support/legal-info/README.header
> index 0b5aa66..316f799 100644
> --- a/support/legal-info/README.header
> +++ b/support/legal-info/README.header
> @@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ This material is composed of the following items.
>     sources/ subdirectory (except for the non-redistributable packages, which
>     have not been saved). Patches that were applied are also saved, along
>     with a file named 'series' that lists the patches in the order they were
> -   applied.
> +   applied. Patches are under the same license as the original package.
>   * A manifest file listing the configured packages and related information.
>   * The license text of the packages; they have been saved in the licenses/
>     subdirectory.
> -- 
> 1.9.1
> 

-- 
.-----------------.--------------------.------------------.--------------------.
|  Yann E. MORIN  | Real-Time Embedded | /"\ ASCII RIBBON | Erics' conspiracy: |
| +33 662 376 056 | Software  Designer | \ / CAMPAIGN     |  ___               |
| +33 223 225 172 `------------.-------:  X  AGAINST      |  \e/  There is no  |
| http://ymorin.is-a-geek.org/ | _/*\_ | / \ HTML MAIL    |   v   conspiracy.  |
'------------------------------^-------^------------------^--------------------'

[Buildroot] [PATCH 4/5] docs/manual: add section about patch licensing

[Luca Ceresoli]

Hi Thomas,

Thomas Petazzoni wrote:
> Dear Luca Ceresoli,
>
> On Mon,  1 Feb 2016 15:52:23 +0100, Luca Ceresoli wrote:
>> Signed-off-by: Luca Ceresoli <luca@lucaceresoli.net>
>> ---
>>   docs/manual/legal-notice.txt | 16 ++++++++++++++--
>>   docs/manual/patch-policy.txt |  2 +-
>>   2 files changed, 15 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
>
>>   Patches are released under the same license as the software that they
>> -modify.
>> +modify (see xref:legal-info-buildroot[]).
>
> apply to ?

Of course, queued for v2.

-- 
Luca