Messages in this thread | | | Subject | Re: [OT] use of patented algorithms in the kernel ok or not? | From | Arjan van de Ven <> | Date | Sun, 21 Dec 2003 15:56:14 +0100 |
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> > I expect this was said in jest, but it would be delightful to see this > > done for real. To the best of my knowlege it's uncharted territory, > > so perhaps what you suggest _would_ be upheld in a court of law as > > permissible? > > > > This approach would turn Linux into proprietary software.
how so? How is adding speed improvements to the code that may not be allowed in ONE country make linux proprietary? We can't just rip out each and every feature that ANY goverment or country in the world declares illegal/not allowed to be used. CONFIG_USA and the like only provide a hint/helper for those who want to use it in geographies where certain restrictions are imposed by law on what software is allowed to do (without paying third parties that is). Now of course it's a problem if the kernel wouldn't function at all with CONFIG_USA is set (although perfectly ok within the gpl afaics), but for additional performance improvements ? [unhandled content-type:application/pgp-signature]
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