That's a good point. I would think they meant with the exception, because their first sentence is very clear: > Any FreeRTOS source code, whether modified or i

That's a good point. I would think they meant with the exception, because their first sentence is very clear: > Any FreeRTOS source code, whether modified or in it's original release form, or whether in whole or in part, can only be distributed by you under the terms of the GNU General Public License plus this exception. The "thus" in your quote also seems to imply it's a clarification of the consequences of previous rules, not a new rule itself. But, IANAL.