New BSP Advice

Isaac Gutekunst isaac.gutekunst at vecna.com
Mon Sep 21 13:38:50 UTC 2015


Hi Sebastian,

The license is standard BSD. Every file includes this 3-clause header

  ******************************************************************************
   * @attention
   *
   * <h2><center>© COPYRIGHT(c) 2015 STMicroelectronics</center></h2>
   *
   * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification,
   * are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
   *   1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice,
   *      this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
   *   2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
   *      this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
   *      and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
   *   3. Neither the name of STMicroelectronics nor the names of its contributors
   *      may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
   *      without specific prior written permission.
   *
   * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS"
   * AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
   * IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
   * DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
   * FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
   * DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR
   * SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER
   * CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY,
   * OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
   * OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
   *
   ******************************************************************************
   */


https://lists.rtems.org/pipermail/users/2015-June/029027.html

An update regarding the meeting we had in June: We where unable to get conclusive information 
from the FAE regarding licensing, and where not able to make further contact.

If you recall the conversation back in June, the main issue is that the code is downloaded as a 
zip file that contains an overarching license that is NOT okay. However, many of the sub 
folders contain additional release notes that state the BSD 3-clause license.



I did NOT accept an EULA in order to download it.

We believe the top level licenses does not pollute the nested licenses. Having talked to a 
number of people with legal experience, it is extremely clear that each file is BSD licensed. 
In addition, there is no competitive advantage lost by allowing their HAL code to be used in 
open source projects, and everything to be gained by having RTEMS support their chips. With 
this reasoning, there is practically no risk using the code, as we are doing something mutually 
beneficial for all parties.

Note: This is not legal advise, just my personal reasoning.

Isaac


On 09/21/2015 01:33 AM, Sebastian Huber wrote:
> Hello Isaac,
>
> what is the license of the ST code? The last time I looked at this code
> it had a license incompatible to open source projects.
>



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