Re: [rtl-advocacy] Re: Open letter to Victor Yodaiken, re RTLinux patent license

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

In a private mail, Victor defended his right to attach any license that
he wishes to RTLinux. He pointed out that you are free to release code
under both the GPL and another license. I replied:

> There has been a misunderstanding. I do not object to your making the 
> RTLinux modules GPL and covered by the patent. You may do anything
> that you wish with those modules, even release them as binary only. I
> only object to your patching Linux and attaching the patent license
> to those patches. That is the point that I thing violates term 6 of 
> the GPL. You are modifying and redistributing something written by
> Linus Torvalds and Ingo Molnar and you are attaching additional
> restrictions to it as you do so. You need to get them to attach the
> additional restrictions to that code.

Victor replied:

> We apply no restrictions to patched Linux code. We restrict the use
> of the patent process and our code _only_.
>
> Modification of the patched Linux kernel is no problem and that's why
> we go to all those lengths to define the RTLinux code - which does
> not include Linux.

This shows that I was wrong. My concern was that FSM Labs was patching 
Linux code and adding additional restrictions. They are not doing that, 
it was I who misunderstood. 

Victor, please accept my public apology.

Kids, let this be a lesson to you to try to straighten things out 
privately before making a fool of yourself in a public forum. I
think that I have learned my lesson. :-(

-- 
Pete Buechler
peter.buechler@home.com