From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2007 17:50:45 -0600 To: Stephen Rothwell Subject: Re: [patch 0/7] [RFC] Xenon support Message-ID: <20070308235045.GG30703@austin.ibm.com> References: <20070307180144.812594000@elitedvb.net> <20070308113545.5dcc2565.sfr@canb.auug.org.au> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii In-Reply-To: <20070308113545.5dcc2565.sfr@canb.auug.org.au> From: linas@austin.ibm.com (Linas Vepstas) Cc: Linuxppc-dev@ozlabs.org List-Id: Linux on PowerPC Developers Mail List List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , On Thu, Mar 08, 2007 at 11:35:45AM +1100, Stephen Rothwell wrote: > > Sorry, but given the anonymity requirement above, I do not want to even > read these patches. Tracking of the pedigree of code in Linux has become > an issue and deevelopers want to be anonymous really pokes a big hole in > that. Please note that legal systems do have pretty robust notions about "reasonable people" and "reasonable behaviour". Having gone through the patches, I can affirm that these are utterly unremarkable, perfectly ordinary patches, and there is no way that any "reasonable person" will get "contaminated" reading this stuff. The code looks like any other ethernet or ide or sata code; a few register definitions are different, but that's about it. Concepts like "pedigree" and "contamination" and "certificate of originality" and etc. apply when the code in question starts doing things that are unique, novel, "not obvious to practitioners versed in the state of the art". When some code implements something unusual, then there can be legitimate concerns about infringing on some patent, etc. At most, one might argue that there are some "trade secrets" in that code. However, "trade secrets" are not protected by law: once they're public, the're not secret any more, and the holder of the secret is plain out-of-luck, and has no legal recourse. Oh, did I mention I'm not a lawyer, never studied law, etc. etc.? The above is all my personal opinion, not that or my employer etc. --linas