Bruce Perens Warns Grsecurity Breaches the Linux Kernel's GPL License (perens.com)

Bruce Perens co-founded the Open Source Initiative with Eric Raymond. Now he's sharing a "strong opinion" that companies should avoid the Grsecurity security patch for the Linux kernel "because it presents a contributory infringement and breach of contract risk." Slashdot reader NewGnu shared Bruce's comments: [I]t would fail a fair-use test... Because of its strongly derivative nature of the kernel, it must be under the GPL version 2 license, or a license compatible with the GPL and with terms no more restrictive than the GPL. Earlier versions were distributed under GPL version 2... My understanding from several reliable sources is that customers are verbally or otherwise warned that if they redistribute the Grsecurity patch, as would be their right under the GPL, that they will be assessed a penalty: they will no longer be allowed to be customers, and will not be granted access to any further versions of Grsecurity. GPL version 2 section 6 explicitly prohibits the addition of terms such as this redistribution prohibition...

This is tantamount to the addition of a term to the GPL prohibiting distribution or creating a penalty for distribution. GPL section 6 specifically prohibits any addition of terms. Thus, the GPL license, which allows Grsecurity to create its derivative work of the Linux kernel, terminates, and the copyright of the Linux Kernel is infringed. The contract from the Linux kernel developers to both Grsecurity and the customer which is inherent in the GPL is breached.
Perens advises companies to discuss his position with their attorneys, adding "In the public interest, I am willing to discuss this issue with companies and their legal counsel, under NDA, without charge."

Comments

Community

[bill_mcgonigle]

Look, I don't give a shit about violating copyright for the sake of violating copyright. The companies that are all-take-and-no-give, like cheap router manufacturers, that cause the community danger with their unpatched crap - the community tolerates the lawsuits against them.

But if Bruce or Eric decide to sue Debian or Canonical (or whomever) for shipping GRSecurity with the kernel, I'll watch while the community turns on them like a pack of fucking wolves and their reputation takes a perpetual hit.

It's bad enough people playing lawyer with the CDDL vs. GPL nonsense with ZFS - these licenses are intended to help the community, not harm it. People who get lost in the weeds of licenses instead of figuring out how to make the community better are our version of bureaucrats and frankly many of us don't have much use for them.

Any form of legal system that harms its society is immoral and ought to be, and will be, dismantled.