RE: GPL vs non-GPL device drivers

[David Schwartz]

> You're saying that there's no other way to interface device drivers to
> an operating system than the current Linux driver model?

Interfacing an X1900 graphics card to FreeBSD and interfacing an X1900
graphics card to Linux are two different ideas. They are *not* two
expressions of the same idea.

> That's
> strange, since it's a different driver model than Linux had
> previously, and it's also different from the BeOS driver interface,
> etc. If the Linux driver interface is protectable, it doesn't seem
> like scenes a faire applies.

These are all diferent ideas. Scenes a faire applies to how you express a
given idea, not other ideas you could possibly express. (This is explicitly
addressed in the decision.)

Otherwise, there would be no scenes a faire. Perhaps you cannot make a
western without a shootout at high noon, but you can make a romance.

DS


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