Re: Patented NSA-Linux

[PILCH Hartmut <phm@a2e.de>]

> > The point is that you are distributing a proprietary derivative.
>
> Are you really, if your system merely interoperates with the Linux kernel
> (and alternatively with BSD, AIX etc) and you don't distribute the Linux
> kernel?

This is of course only hypothetical.  Presently SELinux seems to be
clearly a derivative work, and it can't be so easily transformed into a
complementary one.   Perhaps SCC didn't have a very careful law department
when they entered the contract with NSA.  Some of their statements seem
quite carelessly thought out.

The SCC people seem to have, by having already published a derivative
under GPL, put themselves into a difficult situation which they can
resolve only by granting a royalty-free license for commercial use to
everybody.

They cannot even withdraw their previous promises, which have been
archived at

http://web.archive.org/web/20011101160243/http://www.securecomputing.com/archive/press/2000/nsa_faq_secure_linux.html

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.securecomputing.com/archive/press/2000/nsa_faq_secure_linux.html

This web.archive.org service seems to be of great interest for all those
who need to prepare priority evidence for potential patent litigation.

-- 
Hartmut Pilch, FFII & Eurolinux Alliance              tel. +49-89-12789608
Protecting Innovation against Patent Inflation       http://swpat.ffii.org/
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