RE: [PATCH] USB: mark USB drivers as being GPL only

David Schwartz
2008-02-07T01:36:39Z

> IANAL, but when looking at the "But when you distribute the same
> sections as part of a whole which is a work based on the Program, the
> distribution of the whole must be on the terms of this License" of the
> GPLv2 I would still consult a lawyer before e.g. selling a laptop with a
> closed-source driver loaded through ndiswrapper.

If that were true, you couldn't legally install more than one program on a computer without permission from all the copyright holders without specific license permission.

A "work based on the Program" is the same as a derivative work. A laptop with an assortment of different programs on it is not a work, it is a collection of works.

DS