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It is relevant because you can't legally distribute GPL code linked to non-gpl compatible code. In fact VMWare and FSF/SFC have been fighting over it for the p
by chinesempire 7y ago
It is relevant because you can't legally distribute GPL code linked to non-gpl compatible code.
In fact VMWare and FSF/SFC have been fighting over it for the past 10 years.
Even though the court dismissed the claim, VMWare announced that will remove the code in question (https://www.vmware.com/company/news/updates/march-2019-hellwig-legal-proceedings.html https://www.vmware.com/company/news/updates/march-2019-hellw...)
You can read more about it here
https://linux.slashdot.org/story/19/03/09/0423243/vmware-touts-dismissal-of-linux-gpl-lawsuit https://linux.slashdot.org/story/19/03/09/0423243/vmware-tou...
In fact VMWare realese the source code of their drivers (among the other things) because they are licensed under the GPL
https://www.vmware.com/download/open_source.html https://www.vmware.com/download/open_source.html
And maintains the repositories on Github with much of the GPL code they use
https://github.com/vmware https://github.com/vmware
- trasz 7y agoErm, from the links you've pasted it clearly follows that you can - that's what the court decided, twice, isn't it?
- chinesempire 7y agoActually the court did not decide that. They disagreed that vmkernel is a driver, they did not rule that GPLv2 software can be combined with incompatible licenses. The source code for vmklinux, The actual kernel module, is released by VMWare for this exact reason.