Re: [PATCH 4/5] usb: gadget: f_midi: cleanups and typos fixes

From: Greg KH
Date: Sat Mar 05 2016 - 22:02:27 EST


On Sat, Mar 05, 2016 at 11:53:35PM +0000, Felipe Ferreri Tonello wrote:
> Hi Greg,
>
> On March 5, 2016 7:39:13 PM GMT+00:00, Greg KH <greg@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >On Sat, Mar 05, 2016 at 11:28:45AM -0500, Michal Nazarewicz wrote:
> >> >> On Wed, Mar 02 2016, Felipe F. Tonello wrote:
> >> >>> @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
> >> >>> * Copyright (C) 2006 Thumtronics Pty Ltd.
> >> >>> * Ben Williamson <ben.williamson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >> >>> *
> >> >>> - * Licensed under the GPL-2 or later.
> >> >>> + * Licensed under the GPLv2.
> >>
> >> > On March 4, 2016 7:17:31 PM GMT+00:00, Michal Nazarewicz
> ><mina86@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >> >> Any particular reason to do that?
> >>
> >> On Fri, Mar 04 2016, Felipe Ferreri Tonello wrote:
> >> > Because the kernel is v2 only and not later.
> >>
> >> Linux as a whole is GPLv2 only, but that doesnât necessarily mean
> >that
> >> parts of it cannot be dual licensed (or GPLv2+). Itâs safer to leave
> >> copyright noticed clear unless you explicitly want your contribution
> >be
> >> GPLv2 only which brings the whole file GPLv2 only.
> >
> >But you can't change the license of someone else's code, which is what
> >is happening here. Felipe T, you can't do that at all unless you want
> >to get into big trouble, please consult a lawyer for all of the gory
> >details.
>
> Thanks for letting me know. TBH, I had no idea about it.

Never change a copyright or a license if you don't know exactly what you
are doing, or why you are doing it, and have consulted with a lawyer
beforehand. The issues here are real, don't take them lightly.

greg k-h