On Fri, 11 Jul 2025 17:39:27 +0200 Ingo Schwarze <schwa...@usta.de> wrote:
> Hello, > > emu...@disroot.org wrote on Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 08:31:34PM +0800: > > > I finally got around to filing away the document pack that came > > with a new Bosch refrigerator. Apparently it has a feature called > > "Home Connect" which enables it to connect to a mobile phone app > > via some murky cloud service. > > > > Among the documents was the usual "Information regarding Open Source > > Software" slip. I was quite surprised to find OpenBSD listed as a > > component. > > > > However, the license as published by Bosch looks odd. The first > > part is (C) 1996 Internet Software Consortium, and looks identical > > to the license template for new code that is found > > in /usr/share/misc. > > Well, /usr/share/misc/license.template is based on the ISC license, > and OpenBSD also includes (relatively small) amounts of ISC code, > so this far, nothing looks strange to me. > > > The second part is "Portions Copyright (c) 1995 by International > > Business Machines, Inc.", and appears to refer to some DNS code. The > > implication is it's part of OpenBSD. > > > > I attach a scan of the relevant page. > > You sent less than is needed to fully understand what is going on. > > Apparently, the page you sent is part of some kind of a list. > Apparently, the list consists of list entries, and apparently, > each list entry consists of a title and one or more licenses. > > You did not include the text, probably to be found before the > beginning of the list, explaining what the titles of the entries > mean, and what it means when a license is included in an entry. > > So we can only guess. For example, it might be that they say before > the list that each title means that they copied *some* code from > that source, and the licences below that title mean that the code > they copied from that source is under these licenses. > > If this guess is correct, your fridge is likely *not* running OpenBSD, > but only includes minor amounts of code that Bosch copied from > OpenBSD, and that OpenBSD, in turn, got from ISC and IBM. > > > In OpenBSD-current, some code below /usr/src/lib/libc/net/ > and /usr/src/sys/netinet/ > is Copyrighted "1996 by Internet Software Consortium". > I'm too lazy to check whether earlier OpenBSD releases maybe > contained more code under that Copyright, but it probably isn't > relevant anyway, because if they copied any code, the amount > likely doesn't matter. > > > Am I right in thinking that the licence is probably outdated or > > incorrect, > > That is impossible to answer with certainty because you do not provide > enough context. It doesn't seem likely, though. My guess above > provides one possibility how the listing could be correct. > There may be other possibilities how it could be correct. > > I'm not sure what you mean by "outdated". Code distributed with > OpenBSD is free. The definition of "free" includes that the licenses > of the code are not time-limited, but valid in perpetuity. So i don't > understand how, if any code is copied from OpenBSD, the licenses > could ever become "outdated". > > > if it appears to include proprietary code under 'OpenBSD'? > > In the entry entitled "OpenBSD", i see nothing talking > about "proprietary code". Sure, IBM is a for-profit corporation, > and it certainly owns lots of proprietary code, but if it releases > some code under a free license, *that* code becomes free code and > is not proprietary. > > Portions of these files in OpenBSD-current are under Copyright > "1995 by International Business Machines, Inc.": > > /usr/src/include/arpa/nameser.h > /usr/src/lib/libc/net/base64.c > /usr/src/lib/libc/net/res_debug_syms.c > > > Maybe it's just a printer's mistake? > > Not enough information to say for sure, but it seems unlikely. > > > Perhaps someone on the list in Germany has contacts with Bosch and > > could clarify matters with them? > > I would advise against that, it seems like a waste of time. > > OpenBSD explicitly allows reusing of its code by anyone for any > purpose, even as part of of proprietary software that is sold > in binary-only form, as long as the license terms are adhered to, > see https://www.openbsd.org/policy.html for details. > > So based on what you have shown so far, i see no indication that > anything dubious might be going on here. > > Yours, > Ingo Apologies for not sending the full document. It is attached to this message, but doesn't shed much light. That's all there is. As you can see, several items are listed, with headings. The 'IBM' waiver part does not have a heading, so it appears to be part of the 'OpenBSD' section. I was curious about why that might be. > If this guess is correct, your fridge is likely *not* running OpenBSD, > but only includes minor amounts of code that Bosch copied from > OpenBSD, and that OpenBSD, in turn, got from ISC and IBM. That seems the most likely explanation. Like I said, I was surprised to find "OpenBSD" mentioned at all. > I'm not sure what you mean by "outdated". I meant maybe it referred to a time before the licensing of the code in 4.4BSD was clarified, when there were claims that some was proprietary. I just thought I would mention it, given the history regarding licensing of BSD code. Since there is no mention of GPL in the document, it would appear that Bosch deliberately avoided components with GPL licensing. -- Chris <emu...@disroot.org>
Fridge open source fulldoc.pdf
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