Re: [PATCH] Documentation: Add a file explaining the Linux kernel license

[Sumit Semwal]

Hi Greg,



On 16 October 2017 at 14:58, Greg KH <gregkh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> From: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> This adds a short document describing the views of how the Linux kernel
> community feels about enforcing the license of the kernel.
>
> Acked-by: Al Viro <viro@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Alex Elder (Linaro) <elder@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Andrea Arcangeli <aarcange@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Andy Gross <andy.gross@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Aneesh Kumar K.V <aneesh.kumar@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Anna Schumaker <schumaker.anna@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Ard Biesheuvel <ardb@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Arnd Bergmann <arnd@xxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Arvind Yadav <arvind.yadav.cs@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Bart Van Assche <bart.vanassche@xxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Bhumika Goyal <bhumirks@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Bjorn Andersson <bjorn.andersson@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Borislav Petkov <bp@xxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Christian Borntraeger <borntraeger@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Christian KÃnig <christian.koenig@xxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Christophe JAILLET <christophe.jaillet@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Chuck Lever <chuck.lever@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Colin Ian King <colin.king@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Daniel Borkmann <daniel@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Daniel Lezcano <daniel.lezcano@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Daniel Vetter <daniel.vetter@xxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Darrick J. Wong (Oracle) <darrick.wong@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Darrick J. Wong <djwong@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: David Kershner <david.kershner@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: David S. Miller <davem@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Dmitry Torokhov <dmitry.torokhov@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Doug Ledford <dledford@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Fabio Estevam <festevam@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Felipe Balbi <balbi@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Florian Westphal <fw@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Geert Uytterhoeven <geert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Guenter Roeck <linux@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Hannes Reinecke <hare@xxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Hans de Goede <hdegoede@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Heiko Carstens <heiko.carstens@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Heiko Stuebner <heiko@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Heiner Kallweit <hkallweit1@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Ingo Molnar <mingo@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Ivan Safonov <insafonov@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Jaegeuk Kim <jaegeuk@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Jan Kara (SUSE) <jack@xxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Javier Martinez Canillas <javier@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Jeff Kirsher <jeffrey.t.kirsher@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Jens Axboe <axboe@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Jes Sorensen <Jes.Sorensen@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Jiri Kosina <jkosina@xxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Jiri Pirko <jiri@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Joe Perches <joe@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Joerg Roedel (SUSE) <jroedel@xxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Johan Hovold <johan@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Josh Poimboeuf <jpoimboe@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Juergen Gross <jgross@xxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Julia Lawall <Julia.Lawall@xxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: K. Y. Srinivasan <kys@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Khalid Aziz <khalid@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Krzysztof Kozlowski <krzk@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Kuninori Morimoto <kuninori.morimoto.gx@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Larry Finger <Larry.Finger@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Laura Abbott <laura@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Lee Jones <lee.jones@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Leon Romanovsky <leon@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Linus Walleij (Linaro) <linus.walleij@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Lv Zheng <zetalog@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Martin K. Petersen (Oracle) <martin.petersen@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Masahiro Yamada <yamada.masahiro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Masami Hiramatsu <mhiramat@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Mel Gorman <mgorman@xxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Michael S. Tsirkin <mst@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Michal Hocko <mhocko@xxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Mike Marshall <hubcap@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Namhyung Kim <namhyung@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Neil Armstrong <narmstrong@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Olof Johansson <olof@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Pablo Neira Ayuso <pablo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Paolo Bonzini <pbonzini@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Paul Burton <paul.burton@xxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Peter Zijlstra <peterz@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Rafael J. Wysocki <rafael@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Ralf Baechle <ralf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Richard Weinberger <richard@xxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Rik van Riel <riel@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Rob Clark <robdclark@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Rob Herring <robh@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Sebastian Reichel (Collabora) <sre@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Shawn Guo <shawnguo@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Shuah Khan <shuahkh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Simon Horman <horms@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Srinivas Kandagatla <srinivas.kandagatla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Steven Rostedt (VMware) <rostedt@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Sven Eckelmann <sven@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Takashi Iwai (SUSE) <tiwai@xxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Tejun Heo <tj@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Thierry Reding <thierry.reding@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Tony Luck <tony.luck@xxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Ulf Hansson <ulf.hansson@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Vinod Koul <vkoul@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Viresh Kumar <viresh.kumar@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Vivien Didelot <vivien.didelot@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Wei Yongjun <weiyongjun1@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Acked-by: Xin Long <lucien.xin@xxxxxxxxx>
> Signed-off-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

FWIW, please feel free to add:
Acked-by: Sumit Semwal <sumit.semwal@xxxxxxxxxx>
> ---
>  Documentation/process/index.rst                    |   1 +
>  .../process/kernel-enforcement-statement.rst       | 147 +++++++++++++++++++++
>  2 files changed, 148 insertions(+)
>  create mode 100644 Documentation/process/kernel-enforcement-statement.rst
>
> diff --git a/Documentation/process/index.rst b/Documentation/process/index.rst
> index 82fc399fcd33..61e43cc3ed17 100644
> --- a/Documentation/process/index.rst
> +++ b/Documentation/process/index.rst
> @@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ Below are the essential guides that every developer should read.
>     submitting-patches
>     coding-style
>     email-clients
> +   kernel-enforcement-statement
>
>  Other guides to the community that are of interest to most developers are:
>
> diff --git a/Documentation/process/kernel-enforcement-statement.rst b/Documentation/process/kernel-enforcement-statement.rst
> new file mode 100644
> index 000000000000..1e23d4227337
> --- /dev/null
> +++ b/Documentation/process/kernel-enforcement-statement.rst
> @@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
> +ïLinux Kernel Enforcement Statement
> +----------------------------------
> +
> +As developers of the Linux kernel, we have a keen interest in how our software
> +is used and how the license for our software is enforced.  Compliance with the
> +reciprocal sharing obligations of GPL-2.0 is critical to the long-term
> +sustainability of our software and community.
> +
> +Although there is a right to enforce the separate copyright interests in the
> +contributions made to our community, we share an interest in ensuring that
> +individual enforcement actions are conducted in a manner that benefits our
> +community and do not have an unintended negative impact on the health and
> +growth of our software ecosystem.  In order to deter unhelpful enforcement
> +actions, we agree that it is in the best interests of our development
> +community to undertake the following commitment to users of the Linux kernel
> +on behalf of ourselves and any successors to our copyright interests:
> +
> +    Notwithstanding the termination provisions of the GPL-2.0, we agree that
> +    it is in the best interests of our development community to adopt the
> +    following provisions of GPL-3.0 as additional permissions under our
> +    license with respect to any non-defensive assertion of rights under the
> +    license.
> +
> +       However, if you cease all violation of this License, then your license
> +       from a particular copyright holder is reinstated (a) provisionally,
> +       unless and until the copyright holder explicitly and finally
> +       terminates your license, and (b) permanently, if the copyright holder
> +       fails to notify you of the violation by some reasonable means prior to
> +       60 days after the cessation.
> +
> +       Moreover, your license from a particular copyright holder is
> +       reinstated permanently if the copyright holder notifies you of the
> +       violation by some reasonable means, this is the first time you have
> +       received notice of violation of this License (for any work) from that
> +       copyright holder, and you cure the violation prior to 30 days after
> +       your receipt of the notice.
> +
> +Our intent in providing these assurances is to encourage more use of the
> +software.  We want companies and individuals to use, modify and distribute
> +this software.  We want to work with users in an open and transparent way to
> +eliminate any uncertainty about our expectations regarding compliance or
> +enforcement that might limit adoption of our software.  We view legal action
> +as a last resort, to be initiated only when other community efforts have
> +failed to resolve the problem.
> +
> +Finally, once a non-compliance issue is resolved, we hope the user will feel
> +welcome to join us in our efforts on this project.  Working together, we will
> +be stronger.
> +
> +Except where noted below, we speak only for ourselves, and not for any company
> +we might work for today, have in the past, or will in the future.
> +
> +  - Bjorn Andersson (Linaro)
> +  - Andrea Arcangeli (Red Hat)
> +  - Neil Armstrong
> +  - Jens Axboe
> +  - Pablo Neira Ayuso
> +  - Khalid Aziz
> +  - Ralf Baechle
> +  - Felipe Balbi
> +  - Arnd Bergmann
> +  - Ard Biesheuvel
> +  - Paolo Bonzini (Red Hat)
> +  - Christian Borntraeger
> +  - Mark Brown (Linaro)
> +  - Paul Burton
> +  - Javier Martinez Canillas
> +  - Rob Clark
> +  - Jonathan Corbet
> +  - Vivien Didelot (Savoir-faire Linux)
> +  - Hans de Goede (Red Hat)
> +  - Mel Gorman (SUSE)
> +  - Sven Eckelmann
> +  - Alex Elder (Linaro)
> +  - Fabio Estevam
> +  - Larry Finger
> +  - Bhumika Goyal
> +  - Andy Gross
> +  - Juergen Gross
> +  - Shawn Guo
> +  - Ulf Hansson
> +  - Tejun Heo
> +  - Rob Herring
> +  - Masami Hiramatsu
> +  - Michal Hocko
> +  - Simon Horman
> +  - Johan Hovold (Hovold Consulting AB)
> +  - Christophe JAILLET
> +  - Olof Johansson
> +  - Lee Jones (Linaro)
> +  - Heiner Kallweit
> +  - Srinivas Kandagatla
> +  - Jan Kara
> +  - Shuah Khan (Samsung)
> +  - David Kershner
> +  - Jaegeuk Kim
> +  - Namhyung Kim
> +  - Colin Ian King
> +  - Jeff Kirsher
> +  - Greg Kroah-Hartman (Linux Foundation)
> +  - Christian KÃnig
> +  - Vinod Koul
> +  - Krzysztof Kozlowski
> +  - Viresh Kumar
> +  - Aneesh Kumar K.V
> +  - Julia Lawall
> +  - Doug Ledford (Red Hat)
> +  - Chuck Lever (Oracle)
> +  - Daniel Lezcano
> +  - Shaohua Li
> +  - Xin Long (Red Hat)
> +  - Tony Luck
> +  - Mike Marshall
> +  - Chris Mason
> +  - Paul E. McKenney
> +  - David S. Miller
> +  - Ingo Molnar
> +  - Kuninori Morimoto
> +  - Borislav Petkov
> +  - Jiri Pirko
> +  - Josh Poimboeuf
> +  - Sebastian Reichel (Collabora)
> +  - Guenter Roeck
> +  - Joerg Roedel
> +  - Leon Romanovsky
> +  - Steven Rostedt (VMware)
> +  - Ivan Safonov
> +  - Ivan Safonov
> +  - Anna Schumaker
> +  - Jes Sorensen
> +  - K.Y. Srinivasan
> +  - Heiko Stuebner
> +  - Jiri Kosina (SUSE)
> +  - Dmitry Torokhov
> +  - Linus Torvalds
> +  - Thierry Reding
> +  - Rik van Riel
> +  - Geert Uytterhoeven (Glider bvba)
> +  - Daniel Vetter
> +  - Linus Walleij
> +  - Richard Weinberger
> +  - Dan Williams
> +  - Rafael J. Wysocki
> +  - Arvind Yadav
> +  - Masahiro Yamada
> +  - Wei Yongjun
> +  - Lv Zheng

... and my name here as well:
+ - Sumit Semwal
> --
> 2.14.2
>

Best,
Sumit.