1 .. _process_statement_kernel:
3 Linux Kernel Enforcement Statement
4 ----------------------------------
6 As developers of the Linux kernel, we have a keen interest in how our software
7 is used and how the license for our software is enforced. Compliance with the
8 reciprocal sharing obligations of GPL-2.0 is critical to the long-term
9 sustainability of our software and community.
11 Although there is a right to enforce the separate copyright interests in the
12 contributions made to our community, we share an interest in ensuring that
13 individual enforcement actions are conducted in a manner that benefits our
14 community and do not have an unintended negative impact on the health and
15 growth of our software ecosystem. In order to deter unhelpful enforcement
16 actions, we agree that it is in the best interests of our development
17 community to undertake the following commitment to users of the Linux kernel
18 on behalf of ourselves and any successors to our copyright interests:
20 Notwithstanding the termination provisions of the GPL-2.0, we agree that
21 it is in the best interests of our development community to adopt the
22 following provisions of GPL-3.0 as additional permissions under our
23 license with respect to any non-defensive assertion of rights under the
26 However, if you cease all violation of this License, then your license
27 from a particular copyright holder is reinstated (a) provisionally,
28 unless and until the copyright holder explicitly and finally
29 terminates your license, and (b) permanently, if the copyright holder
30 fails to notify you of the violation by some reasonable means prior to
31 60 days after the cessation.
33 Moreover, your license from a particular copyright holder is
34 reinstated permanently if the copyright holder notifies you of the
35 violation by some reasonable means, this is the first time you have
36 received notice of violation of this License (for any work) from that
37 copyright holder, and you cure the violation prior to 30 days after
38 your receipt of the notice.
40 Our intent in providing these assurances is to encourage more use of the
41 software. We want companies and individuals to use, modify and distribute
42 this software. We want to work with users in an open and transparent way to
43 eliminate any uncertainty about our expectations regarding compliance or
44 enforcement that might limit adoption of our software. We view legal action
45 as a last resort, to be initiated only when other community efforts have
46 failed to resolve the problem.
48 Finally, once a non-compliance issue is resolved, we hope the user will feel
49 welcome to join us in our efforts on this project. Working together, we will
52 Except where noted below, we speak only for ourselves, and not for any company
53 we might work for today, have in the past, or will in the future.
56 - Bjorn Andersson (Linaro)
68 - Christian Borntraeger
71 - Javier Martinez Canillas
76 - Vivien Didelot (Savoir-faire Linux)
88 - Stephen Hemminger (Microsoft)
94 - Johan Hovold (Hovold Consulting AB)
101 - Shuah Khan (Samsung)
107 - Greg Kroah-Hartman (Linux Foundation)
110 - Krzysztof Kozlowski
115 - Chuck Lever (Oracle)
120 - Catalin Marinas (Arm Ltd)
124 - Arnaldo Carvalho de Melo
129 - Martin K. Petersen (Oracle)
133 - Sebastian Reichel (Collabora)
137 - Steven Rostedt (VMware)
143 - David Sterba (SUSE)
152 - Geert Uytterhoeven (Glider bvba)
153 - Eduardo Valentin (Amazon.com)
163 - Marc Zyngier (Arm Ltd)