Kernel copyrights, Android

Story: Third time lucky? Naughton raises Google GPL claims againTotal Replies: 6
Author Content
tuxchick

Nov 13, 2011
3:39 PM EDT
Quoting:Linus Torvalds does not hold the copyright for all the code in the kernel; there are thousands of copyright holders and a particular individual would have to sue for a case to go to court.

No copyright holder is in the least agitated.


Google has been a clumsy contributor all along with Android, and they are expert at exploiting FOSS to the fullest while giving back selectively. But saying that no kernel copyright holder is concerned about this probably isn't true. Linus has been firm for years that kernel copyright violations don't bother him much, and there are hundreds of individual rights holders, so it's nearly impossible for anyone to try to enforce kernel copyrights. You might recall Greg Kroah-Hartman and some other key kernel devs trying to do something about this a few years ago, and Linus said "no" so that was that. Greg K-H launched the Linux Driver Project to assist businesses in developing and supporting their drivers in the kernel, which has probably been way more successful at bringing them into the GPL fold than siccing lawyers on them.
Grishnakh

Nov 13, 2011
9:49 PM EDT
Quoting:which has probably been way more successful at bringing them into the GPL fold than siccing lawyers on them.


Yep, carrots usually work better than sticks. Not always though.
helios

Nov 14, 2011
10:03 AM EDT
Ah, but do you think carrots have a pointy end by accident? Truly a dual-purpose vegetable.
jacog

Nov 14, 2011
10:08 AM EDT
In the schlocky action film Shoot-em-up, I believe some foe gets fatally poked with a carrot.
BernardSwiss

Nov 14, 2011
2:03 PM EDT
A couple of days ago, at a local produce store, I saw some "Jumbo Carrots" for sale, that were probably big enough to hollow out and put a candle in, as small jack-o-lanterns (IIRC, almost as big across as a cd) -- they were both "carrot" and "stick"!
Steven_Rosenber

Nov 14, 2011
4:25 PM EDT
Gives new meaning to the powers of root.
JaseP

Nov 14, 2011
5:56 PM EDT
Ugh...

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