GPL Issues Surrounding Commercial Device Drivers?

Demiurg asks: "My company has recently decided to support Linux for it's embedded networking products which means that I'm starting to write Linux device drivers for our hardware. The company was very concerned about GPL issues and consulted a lawyer - who advised us to go for a user-space driver, saying that this is the only safe way to avoid GPL issues. I tried to give them a few examples of companies distributing binary only drivers (NVIDIA and Rational) but was told that these companies do not distribute binary only drivers - they only allow you to download them from a web site (which is not an option for an embedded product). What does Slashdot have to say about the issue? Is writing a user-mode (and hence not very efficient) driver the only way for a company to protect it's intellectual property? Please refrain from giving answers like 'all code should be GPL' - although I personally may agree, such answers will not help me convince management to make the change." Are there any lawyers (or readers with the right legal knowledge) out there that can confirm or contradict this recommendation?

Comments

He is not a kernel hacker

[Daniel Phillips]

In general, do not take advice on how to write a device driver from a laywer. Or, if he/she insists, invite them to write the driver for you. Pay only if it works.

Re:He is not a kernel hacker

[jpvlsmv]

He's not looking for advice on writing the driver. He's looking for advice on LICENSING the driver.

In general, do not take advice on how to license a device driver from a programmer. Or, if he/she insists, invite them to be sued. Pay only if they win.

Re:Tried asking the FSF or lkml directly?

[cscx]

I'm supposing all the FSF will tell him is that when he's done his company's gonna have to call it GNU/EmbeddedDevice.

Re:That's not how they do things on Star Trek!

[derch]

Ah, yes, but what happens when you're out on the edge of the Federation, you've had to dump your warp core, and when you take your shuttle craft to the local non-Federation trading post looking the a new core, the green-skinned junk yard dealer with the right model warp core wants two NSR-420Z plasma injectors and all you have is a NSR-350 injector, and she doesn't accept American Express?

These are the times when a few bars of cold pressed latinum would save your butt. But nooooooo, you're from The Federation. You don't believe in money.

Re:lawyers

[GreyPoopon]

When someone eventually sues over the binary drivers packaged with the Linux kernel, people will lose their intellectual property. The FSF knows this and loves it -- they are out to push their agendas.

<sarcasm>
You forgot to include the part about the secret alliance between the FSF and Microsoft. After all, the real function of the FSF is to invalidate intellectual property so that it can be used by MS.
</sarcasm>

Re:OT: Law School for Geeks?

[Chemical Serenity]

IANAL, but I think he meant to say 'device driver'. ;)

Re:The counterexample is NVidia

[fscking_coward_2001]

Sorry for being a smartass
I don't really believe you're sorry.

I like to see myself as a group of people. But that's another story entirely.

I am impressed

[pommiekiwifruit]

that you clearly have the source code to your company's PABX and laser printers. It must be a pain blowing the flash roms and unscrewing the hard drives when you want to recompile the O/S to keep up with kernel patches though.

Re: lawyers

[Black Parrot]

> The GPL is 'viral' in a sense

The GPL isn't viral; it's hereditary.

I have had both GPL and non-GPL software installed together on my system for years, and none of the non-GPL software has ever been infected.