Re: [gentoo-dev] Re: linux-firmware

[Ulrich Mueller <ulm@gentoo.org>]

>>>>> On Thu, 21 Feb 2013, Greg KH wrote:

>> Ulrich Mueller (ulm) wrote this on the 16th:
>> 
>> > Look into the WHENCE file and be horrified. Taking just the first ten
>> > items (of a total 114):
>> > 
>> >    Unknown license (3 times)

> Which ones specifically?

Driver: snd-korg1212 -- Korg 1212 IO audio device
Driver: kaweth -- USB KLSI KL5USB101-based Ethernet device
Driver: dvb-ttusb-budget -- Technotrend/Hauppauge Nova-USB devices

>> >    GPL, but without source (3 times)

> Really?  Which?

Driver: ambassador -- Madge Ambassador (Collage PCI 155 Server) ATM NIC.
Driver: snd-maestro3 -- ESS Allegro Maestro3 audio device
Driver: qla1280 - Qlogic QLA 1240/1x80/1x160 SCSI support

>> >    "All rights reserved"

> That's not an issue, unless it is alone, is there something else in the
> license as well?

Driver: snd-ymfpci -- Yamaha YMF724/740/744/754 audio devices

According to WHENCE, it is:
"Copyright (c) 1997-1999 Yamaha Corporation. All Rights Reserved."
Nothing else.

>> >    BSD, without source

> There's no problem with that.

Driver: advansys - AdvanSys SCSI

Right, and it's the only one out of the first ten that we're allowed
to redistribute.

>> >    Right for redistribution not granted

> Huh?  Which?

Driver: smctr -- SMC ISA/MCA Token Ring adapter

>> >    "Permission is hereby granted for the distribution [...] as part of
>> >        a Linux or other Open Source operating system kernel"

> What is wrong with that?  We happen to be distributing a Linux operating
> system.

Driver: keyspan -- USB Keyspan USA-xxx serial device

We distribute it in a separate package. And it doesn't say "part of
an OS" but explicitly "part of a kernel".

>> > With one exception, we are not even allowed to redistribute these.

> I don't understand, please explain all of these in detail so that we can
> fix this upstream.

>> This is what we've been discussing about. This is not really about
>> Gentoo by itself, but the ability to distribute the sources at all, be
>> it from us or somebody else.

> I understand, and as an upstream developer, I want to see that fixed
> because all distros need to be able to distribute these files for the
> kernel to work properly.

> Oh, and other distros, with lots of lawyers, are distributing these
> firmware images as a single package, so this needs to be resolved either
> by realizing that our interpretation is incorrect, or that everyone is
> wrong here.

Can you show me a distro that distributes above-mentioned files?
Debian, for example, doesn't distribute them (AFAICS).

Ulrich