Re: WTF? Re: [PATCH] License cleanup: add SPDX GPL-2.0 license identifier to files with no license

[Theodore Ts'o]

On Tue, Nov 07, 2017 at 06:46:58PM +0000, Alan Cox wrote:
> > Given that it had no license text on it at all, it "defaults" to GPLv2,
> > so the GPLv2 SPDX identifier was added to it.
> > 
> > No copyright was changed, nothing at all happened except we explicitly
> > list the license of the file, instead of it being "implicit" before.
> 
> Well if Christoph owns the copyright (if there is one) and he has stated
> he believes it is too trivial to copyright then it needs an SPDX tag that
> indicates the rightsholder has stated it's too trivial to copyright and
> (by estoppel) revoked any right they might have to pursue a claim.

If Cristoph has revoked any right to pursue a claim, then he's also
legally given up the right to complain if, say, Bradley Kuhn starting
distributing a version with a GPLv3 permission statement --- or if Greg
K-H adds a GPLv2 SPDX identifier.  :-)

						- Ted

> I'm sure there's a correct SPDX tag for that ;-)
> 
> Alan