Fwd: Copyright infringement in linux/drivers/usb/serial/keyspan*fw.h

Fwd: Copyright infringement in linux/drivers/usb/serial/keyspan*fw.h

[Aaron Lehmann]

This message sparked a long thread on the debian-legal mailing list,
which is long since dead. I am personally very curious about whether
this has been resolved upstream. I consider it a very important issue,
which is why I asked for RMS' opinion. He said that what is being done
is clearly not "mere aggregation", and that such firmware should be
moved out of the kernel (and even the tarball) to stop violating the
GPL and make Linux be free software.

As a user of hardware which requires firmware like this, I have mixed
feelings, but feel strongly that requirements of the GPL clearly
override any measure of convenience. Are there any plans to remove the
binary-only firmware from the kernel, and/or eventually from the Linux
source distribution? I am not refering to this USB driver
specifically, but rather the general occurance of firmware embedded in
Linux device trivers.

----- Forwarded message from "Adam J. Richter" <adam@yggdrasil.com> -----

From: "Adam J. Richter" <adam@yggdrasil.com>
Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2001 12:53:48 -0700
To: debian-legal@lists.debian.org
Subject: Copyright infringement in linux/drivers/usb/serial/keyspan*fw.h


	Linus's Linux kernel releases from 2.3.50 through the latest
test release (2.4.4-pre6) contain GPL-incompatible "firmware" images
for "EZUSB" devices in linux/drivers/usb/serial/keyspan*fw.h, which
are #included into drivers which contain GPL'ed code, even when compiled
as modules.

	I believe this infringinges the copyrights of the authors
of the code used in these drivers who released their code under GPL.
Alan Cox, has gone on a campaign claiming that this is "mere aggregation"
and insists that I bring in the lawyers to prove him otherwise.  I
really do not want to take this step, but he is forcing my hand.  Note
that Yggdrasil is a copyright owner in this case.

	To simplify removal of the offending code, I have provided
a separate user level facility that can use the USB "hot plugging"
system to automatically load that "firmware" or any other.  The USB serial
maintainer already plans to switch to it in 2.5, and has tested it and
verified that it works.  The software and a kernel patch to remove
the offending code is FTPable from
ftp://ftp.yggdrasil.com/pub/dist/device_control/ezusb/.  The kernel patch
also moves the "whiteheat" code loading into the same user space utility,
just for technical reasons, even though that code can apparently be legally
included in the kernel.  Note that even without this software, the EZUSB
firmware can apparently be loaded by other facilities or from other
operating systems.

	Here is what people involved in Debian should do:

		1. Make sure that no Debian release or snapshot that
		   includes a kernel from 2.3.50 through the current
		   one (don't know if there are any yet) includes
		   linux/drivers/usb/serial/keyspan*fw.h.  By the way,
		   even if there were no legal liability, these files
		   could not be in the "free" part of Debian, if I
		   read the Debian Free Software "Guidelines" correctly.

		2. Possibly include the user level software FTPable from
		   Yggdrasil, although be warned that that code will probably
		   be replaced in the near future to use an input file
		   format more compatible with other development tools used
		   for EZUSB 8051 microcontroller software development.

Adam J. Richter     __     ______________   4880 Stevens Creek Blvd, Suite 104
adam@yggdrasil.com     \ /                  San Jose, California 95129-1034
+1 408 261-6630         | g g d r a s i l   United States of America
fax +1 408 261-6631      "Free Software For The Rest Of Us."


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----- End forwarded message -----

-- 
#define m(i)(x[i]^s[i+84])<< /* I do not condone improper use of this code */
unsigned char x[5],y,s[2048];main(n){for(read(0,x,5);read(0,s,n=2048);write(1,s
,n))if(s[y=s[13]%8+20]/16%4==1){int i=m(1)17^256+m(0)8,k=m(2)0,j=m(4)17^m(3)9^k
*2-k%8^8,a=0,c=26;for(s[y]-=16;--c;j*=2)a=a*2^i&1,i=i/2^j&1<<24;for(j=127;++j<n
;c=c>y)c+=y=i^i/8^i>>4^i>>12,i=i>>8^y<<17,a^=a>>14,y=a^a*8^a<<6,a=a>>8^y<<9,k=s
[j],k="7Wo~'G_\216"[k&7]+2^"cr3sfw6v;*k+>/n."[k>>4]*2^k*257/8,s[j]=k^(k&k*2&34)
*6^c+~y;}}//Please join us in civil disobedience and distribute DeCSS(or efdtt!)

Copyright for drivers- two SCSI HBA drivers

[Matthew Jacob]

> As a user of hardware which requires firmware like this, I have mixed
> feelings, but feel strongly that requirements of the GPL clearly
> override any measure of convenience. Are there any plans to remove the
> binary-only firmware from the kernel, and/or eventually from the Linux
> source distribution? I am not refering to this USB driver
> specifically, but rather the general occurance of firmware embedded in
> Linux device trivers.
> 

In the specific instances that I know about, the f/w for the older Qlogic SCSI
cards (the drivers *not* supplied by vendors) for qlogicisp (qlogicisp_asm.c)
and qlogicpti (qlogicisp_pti.c) is in the Linux source *and has been for
years) with no copyright attribution whatsoever. qlogicfc has the BSD style
copyright that I partly, but mostly Theo Deraadt of OpenBSD, managed to beat
QLogic into doing.

Versions of f/w for qlogicisp && qlogicpti can easily also be had with the BSD
licence- check any *BSD distribution, or pick 'em up via bitkeeper from my
site.


-matt

Re: Fwd: Copyright infringement in linux/drivers/usb/serial/keyspan*fw.h

[Greg KH]

On Thu, May 24, 2001 at 09:34:04PM -0700, Aaron Lehmann wrote:
> This message sparked a long thread on the debian-legal mailing list,
> which is long since dead. I am personally very curious about whether
> this has been resolved upstream. I consider it a very important issue,
> which is why I asked for RMS' opinion. He said that what is being done
> is clearly not "mere aggregation", and that such firmware should be
> moved out of the kernel (and even the tarball) to stop violating the
> GPL and make Linux be free software.

Last I heard, Hugh was talking with the Keyspan people to get this
resolved.  But that was a few weeks ago.

Any news Hugh?

thanks,

greg k-h

Re: Fwd: Copyright infringement in linux/drivers/usb/serial/keyspan*fw.h

[John Cavan]

Not to sound dense, but what part of the GPL prohibits a piece of GPL'd
software from including non-GPL'd code? The GPL does explicitly state
that you can't include it's software in proprietary code, but I don't
recall seeing a provision that prohibits the other way around.

It may not be in the "spirit" of the GPL, but as a legal document, the
letter means more than the spirit in the final determination.

Sorry to intrude on this, but the thought just struck me. I could be
wrong in my remembrance.

John

Re: Fwd: Copyright infringement in linux/drivers/usb/serial/keyspan*fw.h

[Alan Cox]

> Not to sound dense, but what part of the GPL prohibits a piece of GPL'd
> software from including non-GPL'd code? The GPL does explicitly state
> that you can't include it's software in proprietary code, but I don't
> recall seeing a provision that prohibits the other way around.

The same thinbg holds true both ways. A work containing GPL code must be GPL
or freer. Adding either to the other is the same thing.

The firmware is a seperate work, and its mere aggregation even if a .o file
is a more unusual archive formt

Re: Fwd: Copyright infringement in linux/drivers/usb/serial/keyspan*fw.h

[Alan Cox]

> which is why I asked for RMS' opinion. He said that what is being done
> is clearly not "mere aggregation", and that such firmware should be
> moved out of the kernel (and even the tarball) to stop violating the
> GPL and make Linux be free software.

Given that the firmware is a seperate work (try loading it under windows
and you'll find its quite useful without Linux and does not depend on Linux)
and that the folks I have raised this with - who should know their law - 
disagree with Adam I'm not currently persuaded.

The relationship between a USB driver and the kernel is no different to that
between say a web browser and server chatting over a network. In this case
the network is USB not IP based that is all. Clearly mozilla does not cease
to be free software or a seperate work because you looked at microsoft.com
with it.

Now if you want a plausible example of the kind of thing Adam is talking about
you should take a hard look at the ACPI code, where ACPI bytecode is linked
into the kernel by interpreting it

Alan

Re: Fwd: Copyright infringement in linux/drivers/usb/serial/keys

[Hugh Blemings]

Hi Greg,

On 25-May-2001 Greg KH wrote:
> On Thu, May 24, 2001 at 09:34:04PM -0700, Aaron Lehmann wrote:
>> This message sparked a long thread on the debian-legal mailing list,
>> which is long since dead. I am personally very curious about whether
>> this has been resolved upstream. I consider it a very important issue,
>> which is why I asked for RMS' opinion. He said that what is being done
>> is clearly not "mere aggregation", and that such firmware should be
>> moved out of the kernel (and even the tarball) to stop violating the
>> GPL and make Linux be free software.
> 
> Last I heard, Hugh was talking with the Keyspan people to get this
> resolved.  But that was a few weeks ago.
> 
> Any news Hugh?

Will follow it up.

Cheers,
Hugh