diff --git a/gpl-lgpl.tex b/gpl-lgpl.tex index ae10aaa04c46344464bde700e2df241b47f8e1ba..0d79e0ed1314a77d9de1735eae213e508035836b 100644 --- a/gpl-lgpl.tex +++ b/gpl-lgpl.tex @@ -3069,63 +3069,19 @@ deliberately drawn in general terms, and it serves as a foundation for reasonable enforcement policies that respect recipients' right to modify while recognizing the legitimate interests of network providers. +Note that GPLv3 permits the practice of conveying object code in a mode not +practically susceptible to modification by any party, such as code burned in +ROM or embedded in silicon. The goal of the Installation Information +requirement is to ensure the downstream licensee receives the real right to +modify when the device manufacturer or some other party retains that right. +Accordingly, GPLv3\S6's ante-penultimate paragraph states that the +requirement to provide Installation Information ``does not apply if neither +you nor any third party retains the ability to install modified object code +on the User Product''. + Finally, GPLv3\S6 makes it clear that there is also no requirement to provide warranty or support for the User Product itself. -% FIXME: This needs merged in somewhere in here - -The mere fact that use of the work implies that the user \textit{has} the key -may not be enough to ensure the user's freedom in using it. The user must -also be able to read and copy the key; thus, its presence in a special -register inside the computer does not satisfy the requirement. In an -application in which the user's personal key is used to protect privacy or -limit distribution of personal data, the user clearly has the ability to read -and copy the key, which therefore is not included in the Corresponding -Source. On the other hand, if a key is generated based on the object code, or -is present in hardware, but the user cannot manipulate that key, then the key -must be provided as part of the Corresponding Source. - -% FIXME: this came from Section 1 but is now mostly in Section 6 - -In section 1, we have tried to limit as precisely as possible the situation -in which an encryption or signing key is part of the Corresponding Source -Code of a GPL'd work. Where someone is provided a GPL'd work, he must -receive the whole of the power to use and modify the work that was available -to preceding licensors whose permissions he automatically receives. If a key -would be necessary to install a fully functional version of the GPL'd work -from source code, the user who receives the binary must receive the key along -with the source. The requirement of full functionality, which we have -illustrated with examples, is no more optional than it would be if GPL'd -software were redistributed with an additional license condition, rather than -a technical limitation, on the uses to which modified versions could be -put.\footnote{There is a clear distinction between this situation and the - situation of authenticated modules or plug-ins distributed as part of a - multi-component software system, so that instances of the software can - verify for the user the integrity of the collection. So long as the - decision about whether to run a modified version is the user's decision, - not controlled by a preceding licensor or a third party, the vendor's - authentication key would also not qualify as part of the Corresponding - Source under the language we have adopted for Draft 2.} - -% FIXME: this needs the right place. - -We do not object to the practice of conveying object code in a mode not -practically susceptible to modification by any party, such as code burned in -ROM or embedded in silicon. What we find ethically objectionable is the -refusal to pass on to the downstream licensee the real right to modify, -coupled with the retention of that right in the device manufacturer or some -other party. Our text has never prohibited distribution in ROM, but we have -decided to make the point explicitly, for clarity's sake. Accordingly, our -text states that the requirement to provide Installation Information ``does -not apply if neither you nor any third party retains the ability to install -modified object code on the User Product.'' - -%FIXME: publicly documented format. This might work as a start on that: - -Our primary objective here was to ensure that the -distributor use a generally-recognized mechanism for packaging source -code. - \section{Understanding License Compatibility} \label{license-compatibility}