Kernel modules are not derivative works of the kernel under copyright law (which was originally designed around literary works). Some might argue that kernel mo

Kernel modules are not derivative works of the kernel under copyright law (which was originally designed around literary works). Some might argue that kernel modules that were developed on Linux are, but ZFS itself is ported from another platform, so that is a moot point. The only case where you cannot distribute ZFS is if you link it into the vmlinux binary that your bootloader loads. In that case, it is no longer a LKM and you can claim the binary is a derived work of Linux. That is what I believe shmeri meant.