Was Microsoft violating the GPL before deciding to embrace it? |
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Was Microsoft violating the GPL before deciding to embrace it?
Looks like there's more to the story of Microsoft's decision to contribute driver code to the Linux kernel under the General Public License. The Linux community member who alterted a Novell representative to the existence of Microsoft's standalone drivers says he did so after discovering that they mixed GPL-based and closed-source code in a manner he viewed as "an obvious violation of the license."
"The releasing of the drivers is good news for users, developers, and in the end Microsoft as well," the "Linux Network Plumber" writes in a blog post. "Like most GPL related actions, a lot of work was done behind the scenes to get the offending company into compliance. ... It took longer than expected, but finally Microsoft decided to do the right thing and release the drivers."
Greg Kroah-Hartman, the Novell fellow who oversees the Linux Driver Project and worked with Microsoft on the contribution, implicitly confirms the account -- pointing to the post on his blog and saying it "gives a little more of the backstory of what caused me to start talking to Microsoft in the first place."
We've asked a Microsoft representative for comment, and we'll update this post depending on the response.
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