Gentlemen,
First, my apologies for ignoring this thread for so long.
As I recall, I was the person that added this file to ppcboot almost 7 years ago when I added the first Book E support.
Matthias Fuchs wrote:
Did you have a look into include ppc440.h?
I took a pretty close look. There's still considerable original content in the current file. But the amount doesn't matter, it's a derivative work, period.
It contains the "old" IBM copyright and (!!!) a GPL header with copyrights from five IBM people.
Hmm, does this bring us any further?
I don't see any incompatibility with GPL here ... nor did I see any issues 7 years ago. The clause,
"No license under IBM patents or patent applications is to be implied by the copyright license."
does not throw a monkey wrench into u-boot as the "royalty-free redistribution" of the _code_ is not affected. In fact, the IBM notice clearly states:
"Anyone receiving this source is licensed under IBM copyrights to use it in any way he or she deems fit, including copying it, modifying it, compiling it, and redistributing it either with or without modifications."
IBM is simply making it clear that the copyright does not imply coverage of their patented or patent-pending inventions and/or processes (i.e. that copyright applies only to the code).
In any case, I appreciate these discussions -- they are vital to maintaining a "clean" household and help improve our overall discipline ... which can wane from time to time.
Regards, --Scott