Open letter to Victor Yodaiken, re RTLinux patent license

[Pete Buechler <peter.buechler@home.com>]

Dear Victor -

I am writing you an open letter on your new patent license, in order
to stimulate some discussion in this area. I suspect there will be a
fair amount.

I believe that the patent license now available at
ftp://ftp.rtlinux.com/pub/rtlinux/v3/PATENT_LICENSE violates the
spirit of the GPL under which Linux is released, and may violate the
letter of the GPL as well. The GPL was developed to allow the end user
the maximum freedom possible, while your patent license removes
freedom from the end user. And I believe that modifying files from
Linux as your patches do, followed by attaching the patent license,
violates term 6 of the GPL, which states that you may not attach any
more restrictions to GPL code that you modify and redistribute.

You have previously stated that your patent would be used for only
defensive purposes. However, by requiring any system other than RTLinux 
which uses the patented process to run only GPL code you seem to be 
making a direct attack on RTAI, attempting to prevent it from being 
used to run proprietary applications. In addition, you allow 
proprietary code to be run only on an unmodified version of RTLinux. 
Thus if I enhance RTLinux in some way I am no longer free to run 
anything but GPL code on my system - no BSD code, no artistic license 
code, and no proprietary code. This applies even if I make my patches 
freely available (as I would under the GPL).

There are other onerous restrictions made on the end user, such as 
mandatory registration with FSM Labs and the requirement to track all 
uses of the patented process.
 
I believe that this license does not enhance the GPL, as you once
stated that it would. I think it detracts from the GPL in an attempt
to give FSM Labs a commercial advantage over its competitors. I believe 
that the GPL is not in need of such help. I request that you should 
reconsider your current patent license.

-- 
Pete Buechler
peter.buechler@home.com