There are currently some doubts about out-of-tree kernel modules licensed under GPLv3 and if they are supposed to be able to use symbols exported using EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL.
Clarify that "Proprietary" means anything non-GPL2 even though the license might be an open source license. Also disambiguate "GPL compatible" to "GPLv2 compatible". Signed-off-by: Uwe Kleine-König <[email protected]> --- Hello, these are the locations that I found by a quick grep. If you spot a document that needs similar updating, please tell. The change in license-rules.rst looks bigger than it actually is due to changing where the line wrappings occur. With `git diff --word-diff` it reduces to: "Proprietary" The module is under a proprietary license. {+"Proprietary" is to be understood only as+} {+ "The license is not compatible to GPLv2".+} This string is solely for [-proprietary-]{+non-GPL2 compatible+} third party modules and cannot be used for Best regards Uwe Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst | 2 +- Documentation/process/license-rules.rst | 18 ++++++++++-------- 2 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-) diff --git a/Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst b/Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst index 1717348a4404..0042776a9e17 100644 --- a/Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst +++ b/Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst @@ -587,7 +587,7 @@ Defined in ``include/linux/export.h`` Similar to :c:func:`EXPORT_SYMBOL()` except that the symbols exported by :c:func:`EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL()` can only be seen by -modules with a :c:func:`MODULE_LICENSE()` that specifies a GPL +modules with a :c:func:`MODULE_LICENSE()` that specifies a GPLv2 compatible license. It implies that the function is considered an internal implementation issue, and not really an interface. Some maintainers and developers may however require EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL() diff --git a/Documentation/process/license-rules.rst b/Documentation/process/license-rules.rst index 2ef44ada3f11..59a7832df7d0 100644 --- a/Documentation/process/license-rules.rst +++ b/Documentation/process/license-rules.rst @@ -471,14 +471,16 @@ _`MODULE_LICENSE` source files. "Proprietary" The module is under a proprietary license. - This string is solely for proprietary third - party modules and cannot be used for modules - which have their source code in the kernel - tree. Modules tagged that way are tainting - the kernel with the 'P' flag when loaded and - the kernel module loader refuses to link such - modules against symbols which are exported - with EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(). + "Proprietary" is to be understood only as + "The license is not compatible to GPLv2". + This string is solely for non-GPL2 compatible + third party modules and cannot be used for + modules which have their source code in the + kernel tree. Modules tagged that way are + tainting the kernel with the 'P' flag when + loaded and the kernel module loader refuses + to link such modules against symbols which + are exported with EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(). ============================= ============================================= base-commit: 28955f4fa2823e39f1ecfb3a37a364563527afbc -- 2.45.2
