Add some details on exactly how to comply with the GPL -Erik
No binary (build failed)
—
(log yok)
| @@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ | |
| <br><a href="/docs.html">Documentation</a> | |
| <br><a href="/products.html">Products</a> | |
| <br><a href="/shame.html">Hall of Shame</a> | |
| + | <br><a href="/license.html">License</a> |
| <p><b>Related Sites</b> | |
| <br><a href="http://uclibc.org/">uClibc.org</a> | |
| @@ -0,0 +1,108 @@ | |
| + | <!--#include file="header.html" --> |
| + | |
| + | |
| + | <h3>The GPL BusyBox license</h3> |
| + | |
| + | There has been some confusion in the past as to exactly what is |
| + | required to safely distribute GPL'd software such as BusyBox as |
| + | part of a product. To ensure that there is no confusion |
| + | whatsoever, this page attempts to summarize what you should do to |
| + | ensure you do not accidentally violate the law. |
| + | |
| + | <p> |
| + | |
| + | <p> |
| + | |
| + | BusyBox is licensed under the GNU General Public License , which |
| + | is generally just abbreviated simply as the GPL license, or |
| + | just the GPL. <a href="/products.html">Anyone thinking of shipping |
| + | BusyBox as part of a product</a> should be familiar with the |
| + | licensing terms under which they are allowed to use and |
| + | distribute BusyBox. You are advised to take a look over the |
| + | |
| + | <ul> |
| + | <li><a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html">full text of |
| + | the GNU General Public License</a>, and |
| + | <li><a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html"> |
| + | Frequently Asked Questions about the GNU GPL</a> |
| + | </ul> |
| + | to be sure you (and your lawyers) fully understand them. |
| + | |
| + | <p> |
| + | |
| + | The following is a quick summary for the impatient. If you |
| + | carefully follow these steps, it will ensure that you are 100% |
| + | authorized to ship BusyBox with your product, and have no reason |
| + | to worry about lawsuits or being listed on the <a |
| + | href="/shame.html">BusyBox Hall of Shame</a> page. You will be |
| + | able to sleep peacefully at night knowing you have fulfilled all |
| + | your licensing obligations. |
| + | |
| + | <p> |
| + | |
| + | If you distribute a product, it should either be accompanied by |
| + | <b>full source for all GPL'd products</b> (including BusyBox) |
| + | and/or a <b>written offer</b> to supply the source source for all |
| + | GPL'd products for the cost of shipping and handling. The source |
| + | has to be in its preferred machine readable form, so you cannot |
| + | encrypt or obfuscate it. You are not required to provide full |
| + | source for all the closed source applications that happen to be |
| + | part of the system with BusyBox, though you can certainly do so |
| + | if you feel like it. But providing source for the GPL licensed |
| + | applications such as BusyBox is manditory. |
| + | |
| + | <p> |
| + | |
| + | <b>Accompanied by source</b> generally means you place the full |
| + | source code for all GPL'd products such as BusyBox on a driver CD |
| + | somewhere. |
| + | |
| + | <p> |
| + | |
| + | <b>A written offer</b> generally means that somewhere in the |
| + | docs for your product, you write something like |
| + | |
| + | <blockquote> |
| + | The GPL source code contained in this product is available as a |
| + | free download from http://blah.blah.blah/ |
| + | </blockquote> |
| + | Or you can offer source by writing |
| + | somewhere in the docs for your product something like |
| + | <blockquote> |
| + | If you would like a copy of the GPL source code in this product |
| + | on a CD, please send $9.99 to <address> for the costs of |
| + | preparing and mailing a CD to you. |
| + | </blockquote> |
| + | <p> |
| + | |
| + | Keep in mind though that if you distribute GPL'd binaries online |
| + | (as is often done when supplying firmware updates), you <b>must</b> |
| + | make source available online and inform those downloading |
| + | firmware updates of their right to obtain source. |
| + | |
| + | <p> |
| + | |
| + | Additionally, some people have the mistaken understanding that if |
| + | they use unmodified GPL'd source code, they do not need to |
| + | distribute anything. This belief is not correct, and is not |
| + | supported by the text of the |
| + | <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html">text of GPL</a>. |
| + | Please do re-read it, and you |
| + | will find there is no such provision. If you distribute any GPL'd |
| + | binaries, you must also make source available as discussed on |
| + | this webpage. |
| + | |
| + | <p> |
| + | |
| + | These days, <a href="http://www.linksys.com/">Linksys</a> is |
| + | doing a good job at complying with the GPL, they get to be an |
| + | example of how to do things right. Please take a moment and |
| + | check out what they do with |
| + | <a href="http://www.linksys.com/download/firmware.asp?fwid=178"> |
| + | distributing the firmware for their WRT54G Router.</a> |
| + | Following their example would be a fine way to ensure you have |
| + | fulfilled your licensing obligations. |
| + | |
| + | |
| + | <!--#include file="footer.html" --> |
| + | |
| @@ -13,6 +13,9 @@ Hall of Shame. | |
| <p> | |
| + | Here are the details of <a href="/license.html">exactly how to comply |
| + | with the BusyBox license</a>, so there should be no question as to |
| + | exactly what is expected. |
| Complying with the Busybox license is easy and completely free, so the | |
| companies listed below should be ashamed of themselves. Furthermore, each | |
| product listed here is subject to being legally ordered to cease and desist | |
| @@ -24,14 +27,17 @@ than sue people. But he will sue if forced to do so to maintain compliance. | |
| Do everyone a favor and don't break the law -- if you use busybox, comply with | |
| the busybox license by releasing the source code with your product. | |
| - | </p> |
| + | <p> |
| <ul> | |
| + | <li><a href="http://www.trendware.com/products/TEW-411BRP.htm">TRENDnet TEW-411BRP 54Mbps 802.11g Wireless AP Router with 4-Port Switch</a> |
| <li><a href="http://www.hauppauge.co.uk/html/mvp.htm">Hauppauge Media MVP</a> | |
| + | <br>Hauppauge has contacted me and is working on resolving this problem. |
| </li><li><a href="http://www.buffalo-technology.com/products/wireless/wbr-g54.htm">Buffalo WBR-G54 wireless router</a> | |
| </li><li><a href="http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=&Section_Id=201522&pcount=&Product_Id=136493">Belkin 54g Wireless DSL/Cable Gateway Router</a> | |
| </li><li><a href="http://www.dmmtv.com/">Dreambox DM7000S DVB Satellite Receiver</a> | |
| + | <br> Dream-Multimedia has contacted me and is working on resolving this problem. |
| </li><li><a href="http://testing.lkml.org/slashdot.php?mid=331690">Sigma Designs EM8500 based DVD players</a> | |
| </li><li><a href="http://testing.lkml.org/slashdot.php?mid=433790">Liteon LVD2001 DVD player using the Sigma Designs EM8500</a> | |
| </li><li><a href="http://www.rimax.net/">Rimax DVD players using the Sigma Designs EM8500</a> | |