Fedora Freedom and linux-libre

[jeff]

Les Mikesell wrote:
> jeff wrote:
>>
>>>>
>>>> I personally downloaded this file believing that I was getting a 
>>>> free GPL driver. Broadcom says so in the patch itself, in the 
>>>> included LICENSE file, and their website when you click to download 
>>>> it. Red Hat is shipping it as GPLv2. So either they have to provide 
>>>> the source (if they have it), stop shipping it, or *at least* stop 
>>>> saying they are shipping a GPLv2 kernel if they are unwilling/unable 
>>>> to provide the source.
>>>
>>> You missed the discussion where it was pointed out that some firmware
>>> is written in hex directly, as there is no compiler. Good luck with
>>> demanding the source to that dude...
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>   ---->   "Derived from proprietary unpublished source code"  <----
>>
>>
>>
>> linux-2.6.25/drivers/net/tg3.c:
>>
>> /*
>>  * tg3.c: Broadcom Tigon3 ethernet driver.
>>  *
>>  * Copyright (C) 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 David S. Miller 
>> (davem at redhat.com)
>>  * Copyright (C) 2001, 2002, 2003 Jeff Garzik (jgarzik at pobox.com)
>>  * Copyright (C) 2004 Sun Microsystems Inc.
>>  * Copyright (C) 2005-2007 Broadcom Corporation.
>>  *
>>  * Firmware is:
>>  *      Derived from proprietary unpublished source code,
>>  *      Copyright (C) 2000-2003 Broadcom Corporation.
>>  *
>>  *      Permission is hereby granted for the distribution of this 
>> firmware
>>  *      data in hexadecimal or equivalent format, provided this copyright
>>  *      notice is accompanying it.
>>  */
>>
>>
>>
>> tg3.c is the example I have been using all along.
> 
> And note the difference between this and the earlier one you previously 
> posted that (probably mistakenly) said it was GPL'd.

That's what's on there now--to point out it wasn't written in hex--there is 
source code *somewhere*. For years it was distributed without that line.

For example:

/******************************************************************************/
/*                                                                            */
/* Broadcom BCM5700 Linux Network Driver, Copyright (c) 2000 - 2003 Broadcom  */
/* Corporation.                                                               */
/* All rights reserved.                                                       */
/*                                                                            */
/* This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify       */
/* it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by       */
/* the Free Software Foundation, located in the file LICENSE.                 */
/*                                                                            */
/* (c) COPYRIGHT 2001-2004 Broadcom Corporation, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.         */
/*                                                                            */
/*  Name: F W _ L S O 0 5. H                                                  */
/*  Author : Kevin Tran                                                       */
/*  Version: 1.2                                                              */
/*                                                                            */
/* Module Description:  This file contains firmware binary code of TCP        */
/* Segmentation firmware (BCM5705).                                           */
/*                                                                            */
/* History:                                                                   */
/*    08/10/02 Kevin Tran       Incarnation.                                  */
/*    02/02/04 Kevin Tran       Added Support for BCM5788.                    */
/******************************************************************************/

[lots of hex]

If that is written at the top of a file *with no other disclaimers* (which is 
the case here), what license is the file under? Note, there is *no* other code 
in this file, just the firmware. To me it looks like they GPL'd it, no? If you 
say the license applies to just one section, which section is that, since there 
are no other sections?

The file quoted above is fw_lso05.h as distributed by broadcom.com in 
linux-7.3.5.zip.

-Jeff