Hi,
Dear Matthias Fuchs,
In message 200907081621.51898.matthias.fuchs@esd.eu you wrote:
On Wednesday 08 July 2009 15:40:08 Matthias Fuchs wrote:
I am just cleaning up cpu/ppc4xx/4xx_pci.c (mainly coding style stuff). I am wondering about the file's header. I think even when this code comes initially from IBM there is not much left from original IBM code.
Yes, this could be the case.
So can we replace the header with the widely used GPL template?
I'm not sure here. The paragraph clearly states:
Any person who transfers this source code or any derivative workmust include the IBM copyright notice, this paragraph, and thepreceding two paragraphs in the transferred software.So even if the current version has not much in common with the original version (IIRC cloned from IBM PIBS), we still have to carry it with us. At least this is how I interpret it.
But we could prepend the typical header which brings us to something like this:
You could do it, but you are eventually not permitted to do it legally.
The fact that you "must include the IBM copyright notice, this paragraph, and the preceding two paragraphs in the transferred software" may or may not be compatible with GPL - IANAL...
Same with me. I cannot understand how maybe-GPL-incompatable sources can be part of U-Boot. This file is not the only one. Also the top level README says that the sources are under the GPL. So does it even play any role when the GPL lines are not contained in some files? Isn't it enough to have the licence of the whole project mentioned once?
To be on the legal side, I will keep the GPL note off this file. Same with me. IANAL. And I am not very motivated to become one sooner or later.
Matthias