[NMLUG] Re: Better than Knoppix

[M. Warner Losh]

In message: <Pine.LNX.4.44.0401011623250.30261-100000 at www2.mrbrklyn.com>
            Steve Milo <slavik914 at mrbrklyn.com> writes:
: No the kernel does *not* belong to Linus!.  The kernel is public domain,
: people from around the world have contributed to its success and
: advancement.  Once he released the code to the public it became public.

The kernel is *NOT* public domain.  Public Domain is a specific legal
term that does not fit the definition of the Linux Kernel.  The
authors who wrote it retain a copyright on it.  They allow you to use
it out of the kindness of their hearts, as well as if you follow the
license which they include (which is typically GPL).  The folks that
release their code under the GPL do so because they believe that the
entire source for the system should be available (at least for things
that link into the kernel).

It is an open legal question as to whether a driver is a derivitive
work or not, but most of the posts that Linus has made lately say that
it is.

Warner