Re: [Xen-devel] [edk2] EDK II & GPL - Re: OVMF BoF @ KVM Forum 2015

[Andrew Fish <afish@xxxxxxxxx>]

> On Sep 9, 2015, at 3:24 PM, Jordan Justen <jordan.l.justen@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> On 2015-09-09 12:11:26, El-Haj-Mahmoud, Samer wrote:
>> The recent expansions beyond BSD where all permissive licenses (BSD
>> like) as far as I can tell.
>> 
>> I agree with Andrew, opening the door for GPL licensed code in EDK2
>> will have severe consequences for products that are built using
>> EDK2.
> 
> I don't think simply having a GplDriverPkg in the tree would have any
> consequences for a platform that doesn't use any code in that package.
> Obviously we could not make any core packages rely on that package.
> 

So you have a legal degree and are speaking on behalf of your employer on this 
subject? 

> This would just be a sanctioned, clear landing place for people that
> cannot, or will not provide their driver under a permissive license.
> 
> This license will limit who can use drivers from this package. For
> that reason, I hope that we will always ask if a contribution can be
> permissively licensed instead.
> 
> Personally, I would prefer a 2-clause BSD only tree for simplicity,
> but unfortunately, that sort of restriction has its own drawbacks as
> well. (frustrated contributors and less contributions)
> 
> FWIW, I don't mind if the consensus is that GplDriverPkg must live in
> a separate repo. But, it would be nice to hear a good reason why it
> must live elsewhere.

Because GPL is not a permissive license. An accidental git grep and copying 
some code can change the license of the code that gets the GPL code pasted into 
it. Thus having GPL code in the same repository as BSD code can end up 
accidentally converting BSD code to GPL code over time. If GPL was OK with 
everyone we would have started with GPL. The good thing is the BDS code is GPL 
compatible so it can be used for GPL code and bug fixes in the BDS code can be 
merged into to GPL code, but this is a one way operation. 

If you donât believe me please feel free to sit down and have a long 
conversation with Intel IP lawyers.


> (And, why that doesn't also apply to FatBinPkg.)
> 

There is no IP leakage from a binary. This FAT driver is licensed for use with 
EFI, and given this is a EFI code base that seemed like a good thing. 

I donât pretent to understand the GPL FAT thing, I guess it is some kind of 
civil disobedience. it does not mater what license you strap on the code the 
the device makers still have to âpay the manâ. 

Thanks,

Andrew Fish

PS As I stated before Iâm fine removing all the binaries from the main repo, as 
you donât really want binaries in your production repo, and source level 
debugging is a nice feature and all. 

> -Jordan
> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: edk2-devel [mailto:edk2-devel-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of 
>> Jordan Justen
>> Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 2015 12:58 PM
>> To: Andrew Fish <afish@xxxxxxxxx>
>> Cc: Lenny Szubowicz <lennysz@xxxxxxxxxx>; Karen Noel <knoel@xxxxxxxxxx>; Ard 
>> Biesheuvel <ard.biesheuvel@xxxxxxxxxx>; edk2-devel-01 
>> <edk2-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxx>; Reza Jelveh <reza.jelveh@xxxxxxx>; Alexander Graf 
>> <agraf@xxxxxxx>; qemu devel list <qemu-devel@xxxxxxxxxx>; Hannes Reinecke 
>> <hare@xxxxxxx>; Gabriel L. Somlo (GMail) <gsomlo@xxxxxxxxx>; Peter Jones 
>> <pjones@xxxxxxxxxx>; Peter Batard <pete@xxxxxxx>; Gerd Hoffmann 
>> <kraxel@xxxxxxxxxx>; Cole Robinson <crobinso@xxxxxxxxxx>; Paolo Bonzini 
>> <pbonzini@xxxxxxxxxx>; xen-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; Laszlo Ersek 
>> <lersek@xxxxxxxxxx>; Ademar de Souza Reis Jr. <areis@xxxxxxxxxx>
>> Subject: Re: [edk2] EDK II & GPL - Re: OVMF BoF @ KVM Forum 2015
>> 
>> On 2015-09-09 10:04:50, Andrew Fish wrote:
>>> 
>>>> On Sep 9, 2015, at 9:17 AM, Jordan Justen <jordan.l.justen@xxxxxxxxx> 
>>>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> So, related to this, I wonder how the community would feel about a
>>>> GplDriverPkg. Would the community allow it as a new package in EDK
>>>> II directly, or would a separate repo be required?
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> I think we would need a separate repo, like the FAT driver. That is
>>> the only way to deal with the license issues.
>> 
>> There doesn't seem to be any guiding rules here. For example, I
>> think some people are not comfortable with the FatBinPkg being in
>> the tree due to the license. Why is that okay?
>> 
>>>> With regards to adding it directly into the EDK II tree, here are
>>>> some potential concerns that I might anticipate hearing from the community:
>>>> 
>>>> * It will make it easier for contributors to choose GPL compared to
>>>> a  permissive license, thereby limiting some users of the
>>>> contribution
>>>> 
>>>> * GPL code will more easily be copied into the permissively licensed
>>>> packages
>>>> 
>>>> * Some might refuse to look at EDK II entirely if it has a directory
>>>> with GPL source code in it
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> Or have their rights to contribute revoked since this is a fundamental
>>> change, and would require employees to get reauthorized by their legal
>>> departments to contribute.
>> 
>> We've recently expanded beyond just allowing BSD code into the tree,
>> and that appeared to be no big deal. No one brought this up as a
>> fundamental change.
>> 
>> Just to be clear, are you saying Apple probably won't be able to
>> contribute to EDK II if there is any GPL licensed code in the tree?
>> (Even if it is contained in a clearly indicated package.) I guess
>> using dual-licensed BSD/GPL is okay though?
>> (EmbeddedPkg/Library/FdtLib)
>> 
>> -Jordan
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