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Clearance For New Linux Wireless Driver

Posted by kdawson on from the room-turned-out-to-be-clean dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The Software Freedom Law Center has given legal clearance to OpenHAL, a wireless component for Linux, based on their pro-bono review of the code. This announcement dispels allegations of infringement on Atheros' proprietary HAL software. 'We believe that this outcome will clear the way for eventual acceptance of a new wireless driver into the Linux kernel,' said John Linville, the Linux kernel maintainer for wireless networking."

3 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Excellent! by blhack · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Now if only we could get something decent for Broadcom hardware.... we do have something decent for Broadcom hardware. Link
    --
    NewslilySocial News. No lolcats allowed.
  2. some history by cinnamon+colbert · · Score: 5, Interesting

    back in the 80s, kodak developed an instant film,and to make sure it was not infringing the polaroid patent suite, kodak paid for opinions from 3 seperate law firms

    Polaroid sued, Kodak lost, and the opinions did not help them one little bit

    or, would you bet your mortgage on the law center getting it right ?

  3. Free Software HAL == legal? by racyrefinedraj · · Score: 5, Interesting

    From what I understand (and from what the Madwifi wiki tells me), the current HAL is closed source because the Atheros chipset has the technical capabilities to broadcast out of the legal range of spectrum allowed by the FCC and similar bodies. Wouldn't distributing OpenHal be illegal? The SFLC seems to answer a different question in TFA - what about the legal ramifications of distributing a free software HAL in the first place?