From: Luca Ceresoli Date: Tue, 1 Mar 2016 11:01:04 +0000 (+0100) Subject: docs/manual: add section about patch licensing X-Git-Url: https://git.libre-soc.org/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=20040036974f3e432017629910fb548ca2f3e925;p=buildroot.git docs/manual: add section about patch licensing Use the same text that is used in COPYING. Signed-off-by: Luca Ceresoli Cc: "Yann E. MORIN" Cc: Arnout Vandecappelle (Essensium/Mind) Cc: Peter Korsgaard Cc: Thomas Petazzoni Cc: Steve Calfee Acked-by: Thomas Petazzoni Signed-off-by: Peter Korsgaard --- diff --git a/docs/manual/legal-notice.txt b/docs/manual/legal-notice.txt index 0a91c37069..0572daee34 100644 --- a/docs/manual/legal-notice.txt +++ b/docs/manual/legal-notice.txt @@ -134,11 +134,13 @@ Buildroot, with the name used in the manifest files: http://apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html[ Apache License, version 2.0]; +[[legal-info-buildroot]] === Complying with the Buildroot license Buildroot itself is an open source software, released under the -http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html[GNU General Public -License, version 2] or (at your option) any later version. +http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html[GNU General +Public License, version 2] or (at your option) any later version, with +the exception of the package patches detailed below. However, being a build system, it is not normally part of the end product: if you develop the root filesystem, kernel, bootloader or toolchain for a device, the code of Buildroot is only present on the development machine, not @@ -159,3 +161,14 @@ material that must be redistributed. Keep in mind that this is only the Buildroot developers' opinion, and you should consult your legal department or lawyer in case of any doubt. + +==== Patches to packages + +Buildroot also bundles patch files, which are applied to the sources +of the various packages. Those patches are not covered by the license +of Buildroot. Instead, they are covered by the license of the software +to which the patches are applied. When said software is available +under multiple licenses, the Buildroot patches are only provided under +the publicly accessible licenses. + +See xref:patch-policy[] for the technical details. diff --git a/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt b/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt index d50c971c95..5a1fe4f46e 100644 --- a/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt +++ b/docs/manual/patch-policy.txt @@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ If something goes wrong in the steps _3_ or _4_, then the build fails. === Format and licensing of the package patches Patches are released under the same license as the software they apply -to. +to (see xref:legal-info-buildroot[]). A message explaining what the patch does, and why it is needed, should be added in the header commentary of the patch.