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

[Pierre Cloutier <pcloutier@PoseidonControls.com>]

On Tue, 30 Jan 2001, Pete Buechler wrote:
> 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.

Hi:

I will believe that you were wrong when Victor publicly states that the 
wording of his patent _is not_ an attempt to short circuit the RTAI
development effort.

Best regards,

Pierre Cloutier