Re: license question w.r.t. NFSv4.1 Layout drivers - calling all amateur lawyers

On Mon, 26 Dec 2011 22:42:36 -0500 (EST)
Rick Macklem <rmacklem_at_uoguelph.ca> wrote:

> First off, I had no idea which mailing list would be appropriate
> for this, so apologies in advance if I chose the wrong one.
> 
> For NFSv4.1 pNFS, there are layout drivers in Linux that I would
> like to reuse for the FreeBSD client. (Re-writing these drivers
> from scratch would be a lot of work and difficult to maintain. The
> Linux drivers are being actively developed with the assistance of
> server vendors.)
> 
> Two of these drivers carry a University of Michigan copyright notice
> which looks pretty liberal to me. (Rather similar to MIT's copyright.)
> I realize it would have to be approved by core_at_, but I think it could
> be. (The 3rd is GPLv2'd, but that one doesn't concern me at this time.
> I believe that Panasas might be able to release the code for this one
> under a different license, but haven't explored this as of yet.)
> 
> However, there is a catch...
> After the copyright notice on the .c files, but not the .h files,
> there is also this:
> 
> MODULE_LICENSE("GPL");
> 
> and in linux/module.h, there is the following for the above:
> /*
>  * The following license idents are currently accepted as indicating free
>  * software modules
>  *
>  *	"GPL"				[GNU Public License v2 or later]
>  *	"GPL v2"			[GNU Public License v2]
>  *	"GPL and additional rights"	[GNU Public License v2 rights and more]
>  *	"Dual BSD/GPL"			[GNU Public License v2
>  *					 or BSD license choice]
>  *	"Dual MIT/GPL"			[GNU Public License v2
>  *					 or MIT license choice]
>  *	"Dual MPL/GPL"			[GNU Public License v2
>  *					 or Mozilla license choice]
>  *
>  * The following other idents are available
>  *
>  *	"Proprietary"			[Non free products]
>  *
>  * There are dual licensed components, but when running with Linux it is the
>  * GPL that is relevant so this is a non issue. Similarly LGPL linked with GPL
>  * is a GPL combined work.
>  *
>  * This exists for several reasons
>  * 1.	So modinfo can show license info for users wanting to vet their setup 
>  *	is free
>  * 2.	So the community can ignore bug reports including proprietary modules
>  * 3.	So vendors can do likewise based on their own policies
>  */
> #define MODULE_LICENSE(_license) MODULE_INFO(license, _license)
> 
> Now, from what little I know, this does not imply that the .c file is GPL'd,
> since it doesn't have any GPL copyright notice in the file, nor does it #include
> one via MODULE_LICENSE().
> 
> Does anyone happen to know if I am correct or how to confirm this?
> 
> Thanks in advance for any help with this, rick
> ps: Here's what's on the .c file, in case you're interested. The .h
>     files just have what is in the comment.
> /*
>  *  Module for the pnfs nfs4 file layout driver.
>  *  Defines all I/O and Policy interface operations, plus code
>  *  to register itself with the pNFS client.
>  *
>  *  Copyright (c) 2002
>  *  The Regents of the University of Michigan
>  *  All Rights Reserved
>  *
>  *  Dean Hildebrand <dhildebz_at_umich.edu>
>  *
>  *  Permission is granted to use, copy, create derivative works, and
>  *  redistribute this software and such derivative works for any purpose,
>  *  so long as the name of the University of Michigan is not used in
>  *  any advertising or publicity pertaining to the use or distribution
>  *  of this software without specific, written prior authorization. If
>  *  the above copyright notice or any other identification of the
>  *  University of Michigan is included in any copy of any portion of
>  *  this software, then the disclaimer below must also be included.
>  *
>  *  This software is provided as is, without representation or warranty
>  *  of any kind either express or implied, including without limitation
>  *  the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular
>  *  purpose, or noninfringement.  The Regents of the University of
>  *  Michigan shall not be liable for any damages, including special,
>  *  indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, with respect to any
>  *  claim arising out of or in connection with the use of the software,
>  *  even if it has been or is hereafter advised of the possibility of
>  *  such damages.
>  */
> 
> #include <linux/nfs_fs.h>
> #include <linux/nfs_page.h>
> #include <linux/module.h>
> 
> #include "internal.h"
> #include "nfs4filelayout.h"
> 
> #define NFSDBG_FACILITY         NFSDBG_PNFS_LD
> 
> MODULE_LICENSE("GPL");
> MODULE_AUTHOR("Dean Hildebrand <dhildebz_at_umich.edu>");
> MODULE_DESCRIPTION("The NFSv4 file layout driver");
> 

IANAL but IMO the university copyriught notice takes precedence over
the MODULE_LICENSE(), which is basically there so that the in-kernel
linker won't brand the result of loading this module as "tainted."

This is based on 10 years of doing embedded Linux work and encountering
this "problem" myself.

-- 
Gary Jennejohn