From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: Arnout Vandecappelle Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 14:37:16 +0200 Subject: [Buildroot] [PATCH v4 09/22] manual: add advice about GPL compliance for Buildroot In-Reply-To: <1337276001-26149-10-git-send-email-luca@lucaceresoli.net> References: <1337276001-26149-1-git-send-email-luca@lucaceresoli.net> <1337276001-26149-10-git-send-email-luca@lucaceresoli.net> Message-ID: <4FB8E57C.20008@mind.be> List-Id: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: buildroot@busybox.net On 05/17/12 19:33, Luca Ceresoli wrote: > Signed-off-by: Luca Ceresoli > --- > 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. Acked-by: Arnout Vandecappelle (Essensium/Mind) -- Arnout Vandecappelle arnout at mind be Senior Embedded Software Architect +32-16-286540 Essensium/Mind http://www.mind.be G.Geenslaan 9, 3001 Leuven, Belgium BE 872 984 063 RPR Leuven LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/arnoutvandecappelle GPG fingerprint: 7CB5 E4CC 6C2E EFD4 6E3D A754 F963 ECAB 2450 2F1F