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derived work by default. You'd have to have a strong case to _not_

consider your code a derived work..

 

> Issue #3

> ========

> This issue is related to issue #1.  Exactly what is covered by the

> exception?  For example, all code shipped with the Linux kernel

> archive and typically installed under /usr/src/linux, all code under

> /usr/src/linux except /usr/src/linux/drivers, or just the code in

> the /usr/src/linux/kernel directory?

 

See above, and I think you'll see my point.

 

The "user program" exception is not an exception at all, for example, it's

just a more clearly stated limitation on the "derived work" issue. If you

use standard UNIX system calls (with accepted Linux extensions), your

program obviously doesn't "derive" from the kernel itself.

 

Whenever you link into the kernel, either directly or through a module,

the case is just a _lot_ more muddy. But as stated, by default it's

obviously derived - the very fact that you _need_ to do something as

fundamental as linking against the kernel very much argues that your

module is not a stand-alone thing, regardless of where the module source

code itself has come from.

 

> Issue #4

> ========

> This last issue is not so much a issue for the Linux kernel

> exception, but a request for comment.

>

> Richard and I both agree that a "plug-in" and a "dynamically

> loaded kernel module" are effectively the same under the GPL.

 

Agreed.

 

The Linux kernel modules had (a long time ago), a more limited interface,

and not very many functions were actually exported. So five or six years

ago, we could believably claim that "if you only use these N interfaces

that are exported from the standard kernel, you've kind of implicitly

proven that you do not need the kernel infrastructure".

 

That was never really documented either (more of a guideline for me and

others when we looked at the "derived work" issue), and as modules were

more-and-more used not for external stuff, but just for dynamic loading of

standard linux modules that were distributed as part of the kernel anyway,

the "limited interfaces" argument is no longer a very good guideline for

"derived work".