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RTLinux Patents: Issue Closed?

Anonymous Coward writes "LinuxDevices.com reports that the Free Software Foundation has reached an agreement with Victor Yodaiken which resolves what FSF considered to be a violation of GPL by the Open RTLinux Patent License. Details are not yet available, but it sounds like the clause in the license which required users of RTLinux to keep records and provide them to FSMLabs on demand was the principal source of the violation, and that the requirement is being dropped from an updated version of the RTLinux license that will be published in the next day or two. All in all, it seems like the FSF has successfuly enforced the GPL even though it was neither an owner nor co-owner of the software (i.e. the linux kernel) whose license terms were being violated. It's interesting to see this practical example of FSF in action, and bodes well for the future of GPL -- at least in a small way."

crimoid points to ZDNet coverage of the FSF's criticism of RTLinux's licensing terms, written before such a resolution was clear. Sourceforge on Thursday quoted RTLinux CEO Victor Yodaiken, CEO as saying that his company is happy to change "minor problems" with the RTLinux license, and that discussions are still going on with the FSF about those changes.

3 of 121 comments (clear)

  1. This is good news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Puerto Ricans are fucking scum. One of them, driving in his lowered and pimped out piece of shit car, almost hit a friend of mine. The fucking wetback shitlips didn't even apologize, he just kept on going.

  2. FSF by kz45 · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Free Software Foundation has reached an agreement

    I don't know what's going to be worse, the US government or the GNU police......

  3. Re:Your right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Nope, I don't think that Microsoft is using any GPL code in their
    products. The reason is simple. In general, GPL code is of such low
    quality that even Microsoft hesitate using it! There are numerous
    examples of this, and I will only give you two: Linux and GNOME. It
    seems as if the GPL makes software bloated and buggy.

    Hell, Linux is getting even more bloated even as we speak! The other
    day, the leading kernel developers (Linus Torvalds, Alan Cox, etc.)
    discussed whether or not to include the GNOME desktop environment in
    the kernel. The consensus was that the largest part of GNOME (the
    GNOME core) was to be included in the kernel! Talk about bloated!

    Software released under the BSD license is always of much higher
    quality. I always release my code under a BSD-style license.