Linux Driver Copyright Violation
August 28th, 2007 by merdely
Originally posted by me to CapBUG.org:
As reported on The OpenBSD Journal, a Linux kernel developer removed the BSD License text from Reyk Floeter’s Atheros wireless driver.
As Theo de Raadt wrote in a comment to The OpenBSD Journal article:
The other files in the driver, written by Reyk, are the replacement for the HAL. This basically is the hidden register access code which Sam (basically employeed by Atheros) refused to release. This code was placed by Reyk under an ISC license, something our project prefers to use since it is so simple that even a grade 5 student cannot misunderstand what it says. It translates to “You can do anything, but not delete the text”.
Only Reyk could change that copyright notice, since he is the author.
At this time, Slashdot does not consider this news (even though a story has been submitted). This must be a too negative reflection of their beloved Linux.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 28th, 2007 at 11:41 pm and is filed under BSD News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 29th, 2007 at 10:07 am
Update: Looks like Slashdot considers this news afterall:
http://linux.slashdot.org/linux/07/08/29/0241234.shtml