Re: [Devil-linux-develop] new hostap driver and more ...

[Emmanuel E. <ee...@fr...>]

Hi,

i looked further in the distrib files and find one in the hal dir, specif=
icaly for the binary only=20
part :

All files contained in this distribution are covered by the following
copyright unless explicitly identified otherwise.  Note that this
copyright does _NOT_ contain a "or GPL" clause and does _NOT_ permit
redistribution with changes.

/*-
  * Copyright (c) 2002, 2003 Sam Leffler, Errno Consulting, Atheros
  * Communications, Inc.  All rights reserved.
  *
  * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms are permitted
  * provided that the following conditions are met:
  * 1. The materials contained herein are unmodified and are used
  *    unmodified.
  * 2. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
  *    notice, this list of conditions and the following NO
  *    ''WARRANTY'' disclaimer below (''Disclaimer''), without
  *    modification.
  * 3. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce at minimum a
  *    disclaimer similar to the Disclaimer below and any redistribution
  *    must be conditioned upon including a substantially similar
  *    Disclaimer requirement for further binary redistribution.
  * 4. Neither the names of the above-listed copyright holders nor the
  *    names of any contributors may be used to endorse or promote
  *    product derived from this software without specific prior written
  *    permission.
  *
  * NO WARRANTY
  * 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 NONINFRINGEMENT,
  * MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED.
  * IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
  * FOR 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 DAMAGES.
  *
  * $Id: COPYRIGHT,v 1.2 2003/06/25 04:50:21 sam Exp $
  */
"COPYRIGHT" 42L, 2116C=20


Is it Ok for You ? For me it is but i may have missunderstood important i=
mplications ...



Friedrich Lobenstock a =E9crit:

> Hi Emmanuel!
>=20
> Emmanuel ESCARABAJAL wrote on 03.01.2004 15:38 MET:
>=20
>> here is the COPYRIGHT provided with tarball archive from sourceforge .=
..
>> [..]
>>
>> and here an extract of the README file ...
>>
>> The ath_hal module contains the Atheros Hardware Access Layer (HAL).
>> This code manages much of the chip-specific operation of the driver.
>> The HAL is provided in a binary-only form in order to comply with FCC
>> regulations.  In particular, a radio transmitter can only be operated =
at
>> power levels and on frequency channels for which it is approved.  The =
FCC
>> requires that a software-defined radio cannot be configured by a user
>> to operate outside the approved power levels and frequency channels.
>> This makes it difficult to open-source code that enforces limits on
>> the power levels, frequency channels and other parameters of the radio
>> transmitter.  See
>>
>> http://ftp.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/Orders/2001/fcc01264=
.pdf=20
>>
>>
>> for the specific FCC regulation.  Because the module is provided in a
>> binary-only form it is marked "Proprietary"; this means when you load
>> it you will see messages that your system is now "tainted".
>=20
>=20
> But you have to check the page where the binary only stuff comes
> from if they allow packing or not and under which conditions.
>=20
> Remark: AFAIK please keep in mind that you need different
> HAL modules for Europe and the US as there are other
> frequencies involved in wireless lan here and there.
>=20
>> Is it a problem to comply with FCC regulations ? Is GPL v2 enough ?
>=20
>=20
> As said you have to check the licence of the binary-only stuff.
> The stuff under GPL is not a problem as it only loads and controls
> the most important binary-only part.
>=20
>> there is a full gpl driver but, at this time, it's only capable of=20
>> lightning the leds !
>=20
>=20
> Sadly to hear that.

So Do I! :-{
>=20
>> Furthermore, this driver is hostAP Capable ... so very interesting for=
=20
>> use with :
>>
>> Netgear WAG511 & WAB501,
>> D-Link DWL-AG520, DWL-AG650 & DWL-AB650,
>> Linksys WPC55AG, WMP55AG & WPC51AB
>>
>> for the most spreaded ...
>=20
>=20
> Yes I can follow you but if we get into commercial copyright law we
> have to be damned sure what we are including.
>=20

For sure, that's why I agree/apreciate your strictness !

Regards