Re: [Qemu-devel] QEMU License and proprietary hardware

[Balazs Attila-Mihaly \(Cd-MaN\)]

I must prefix this with the fact that IANAL, but as I understand it, you must 
release the source code only if you distribute that modified system (with GPL 
v2). That is, if you use this system internally in you company, you don't have 
to provide your modifications. But if you, for example, provide your clients 
with the modified version, you have the obligation to provide them (your 
clients, not the Qemu community in general) also with the complete source code, 
after which they have the liberty to redistribute the source code under the 
GPL. One solution would be (again, IANAL, so please check with a real lawyer 
:D), is to create an interface to the code you wish to include and put the 
proprietary code in a dynamically linked library which exposes this interface. 
In this case IMHO you have to provide only the code which implements the 
interface in Qemu and loads the shared library, and you would have  no 
obligation regarding the code in the shared library.


----- Original Message ----

From: Armbrost Failsafe <address@hidden>

To: address@hidden

Sent: Thursday, 21 June, 2007 2:28:53 PM

Subject: [Qemu-devel] QEMU License and proprietary hardware



We are looking into using QEMU as the base for a model of a custom system 
featuring some custom ASICs. But licensing issues are halting the process right 
now. Does anyone know what happens license-wise if we create a model of 
proprietary hardware using QEMU? Is that model automatically covered by the GPL 
and thus we have to give to anyone who asks about it? It is clear that if we 
keep it internal, it is OK. But anyone outside of our organization is to use 
it, shouldn't they automatically be entitled to receive the entire source of 
QEMU, including our models of proprietary devices? Even if these are developed 
from scratch without using any existing source code for devices? 



/armbrost



 









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