4 ms·
>but Linus Torvalds could No he cant, he's NOT the owner of 99.9% of the linux kernel code, he is "just" the owner of the trademark "linux" and some code. The
by nix23 4y ago
>but Linus Torvalds could
No he cant, he's NOT the owner of 99.9% of the linux kernel code, he is "just" the owner of the trademark "linux" and some code.
The Linux-Kernel-Code could just change license if every single contributor (or company) gives the "thump-up", otherwise that code would need to be rewritten.
- djur 4y agoHe is the owner of his contributions, which is why I said "for his contributions" immediately after the part you quote.
- nix23 4y agoI would say that (probably?) even his contributions have so much work (patches) from others in it, that he's not the solely owner of the code anymore (same with git), i would say it's nearly impossible to change the license once it's in the kernel. That's a good thing btw ;)
- Macha 4y agoThis is borne out in many music licensing disputes over the years where many owners just means any of them can stop distribution.
- djur 4y agoIt certainly feels like that should be practically the case, and if it ever goes to court I hope that's how it turns out! Copyright law wasn't written with software in mind and, strange as it seems, there's still a ton of unresolved questions about how exactly it works.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]