Can I port 4.4BSD-Lite's TCP/IP protocol stack soure code to my own OS kernel which is GPL Licenced?

[Julian Elischer]

Kip Macy wrote:
> On Sun, May 4, 2008 at 6:32 AM,  <hlwhyw at shtel.net.cn> wrote:
>> Hi, all
>>
>>  Can I port 4.4BSD-Lite's TCP/IP protocol stack soure code to my own OS kernel which is GPL Licence?
>>
>>  I know that 4.4BSD-Lite is BSD Licenced. Is it legal to port BSD Licenced code and change it to GPL licence?
> 
> Yes. BSD licensed code can, by definition, be included in software
> with any license. The only restriction is that you cannot change the
> license of the code without permission of the copyright holder.
> However, I see no reason to do that.

so, the full answer is:

 From the BSD perspective, you can use the code as long as you don't 
change the  copyright or say that you wrote it. We don't care
what you link it with..  However
from the GPL perspective, they will not let you link the BSD code
with GPL code because they will not allow "additional limitations"
and there is a clause in the BSD 4.4.-lite copyright that
they consider to be an additional limitation.  (The advertising clause).

Some of the newer BSD code has  dropped that clause and teh UC regents
have announced they have released users from one of the clauses
so it may be better to look at more up to date versions
of the code. I do understand however that the original code
is smaller and cleaner.



> 
> -Kip
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