[U-Boot] [PATCH 1/4] nfs: convert supported_nfs_versions bitfield to an enum

Wolfgang Denk wd at denx.de
Tue Oct 30 08:46:31 UTC 2018


Dear Joe,

In message <CANr=Z=a1+UFV+gU=3a5wPz7UpH-mzsvB-+FZd=LD8JTXR3gRGg at mail.gmail.com> you wrote:
>
> > As the maintainer of lwIP, I already have thought about this more than
> > once. My main concern however was the license (lwIP is BSD style) and
> 
> Yes, the license is a concern. I'm not a lawyer, but maybe someone can
> comment on what our options are here. Wolfgang? Tom?

IANAL...

Fact is, we already have some 80+ source files in U-Boot which are
covered by the BSD-3-Clause license.  Apparently there are also
statements from the FSF that BSD-3-Clause is considered compatible
with GPLv2.

My _personal_ opinion is that I try to avoid BSD-3-Clause because of
both the:

        2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
           copyright notice, this list of conditions and the
           following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other
           materials provided with the distribution.

and the 

        3. The name of the author may not be used to endorse or
           promote products derived from this software without
           specific prior written permission.

clauses.

The former forces me to add "some text" to all documentation, and
the latter forbids me to say who wrote the code as this might be
considered promotion of the product.  Both are obligations I have
to adhere to, while GPL clearly says "You may not impose any further
restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted
herein."  So in my opinion BSD-3-Clause should be avoided - but
then, this is just my $0.02 - YMMV.

I take chances to have lwIP relicenced under a dual license (GPLv2
OR BSD-3-Clause) are epsilon?


Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk

-- 
DENX Software Engineering GmbH,      Managing Director: Wolfgang Denk
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A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother.


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