Add some details on exactly how to comply with the GPL

 -Erik

3 files changed, 116 insertions, 1 deletions

diff --git a/docs/busybox.net/header.html b/docs/busybox.net/header.html
index 7296b3464..809a7c921 100644
--- a/docs/busybox.net/header.html
+++ b/docs/busybox.net/header.html
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@
     <br><a href="/docs.html">Documentation</a>
     <br><a href="/products.html">Products</a>
     <br><a href="/shame.html">Hall of Shame</a>
+    <br><a href="/license.html">License</a>
 
     <p><b>Related Sites</b>
     <br><a href="http://uclibc.org/">uClibc.org</a>
diff --git a/docs/busybox.net/license.html b/docs/busybox.net/license.html
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f8e0189fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/busybox.net/license.html
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+<!--#include file="header.html" -->
+
+
+<h3>The GPL BusyBox license</h3>
+
+There has been some confusion in the past as to exactly what is
+required to safely distribute GPL'd software such as BusyBox as
+part of a product.  To ensure that there is no confusion
+whatsoever, this page attempts to summarize what you should do to
+ensure you do not accidentally violate the law.
+
+<p>
+
+<p>
+
+BusyBox is licensed under the GNU General Public License , which
+is generally just abbreviated simply as the GPL license, or
+just the GPL.  <a href="/products.html">Anyone thinking of shipping
+BusyBox as part of a product</a> should be familiar with the
+licensing terms under which they are allowed to use and
+distribute BusyBox.  You are advised to take a look over the 
+
+<ul>
+<li><a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html">full text of 
+the GNU General Public License</a>, and 
+<li><a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html">
+Frequently Asked Questions about the GNU GPL</a>
+</ul>
+to be sure you (and your lawyers) fully understand them.
+
+<p>
+
+The following is a quick summary for the impatient.  If you
+carefully follow these steps, it will ensure that you are 100%
+authorized to ship BusyBox with your product, and have no reason
+to worry about lawsuits or being listed on the <a
+href="/shame.html">BusyBox Hall of Shame</a> page.  You will be
+able to sleep peacefully at night knowing you have fulfilled all
+your licensing obligations.
+
+<p>
+
+If you distribute a product, it should either be accompanied by
+<b>full source for all GPL'd products</b> (including BusyBox)
+and/or a <b>written offer</b> to supply the source source for all
+GPL'd products for the cost of shipping and handling.  The source
+has to be in its preferred machine readable form, so you cannot
+encrypt or obfuscate it.  You are not required to provide full
+source for all the closed source applications that happen to be
+part of the system with BusyBox, though you can certainly do so
+if you feel like it.  But providing source for the GPL licensed
+applications such as BusyBox is manditory.
+
+<p>
+
+<b>Accompanied by source</b> generally means you place the full
+source code for all GPL'd products such as BusyBox on a driver CD
+somewhere.
+
+<p>
+
+<b>A written offer</b> generally means that somewhere in the 
+docs for your product, you write something like 
+
+<blockquote>
+The GPL source code contained in this product is available as a
+free download from http://blah.blah.blah/
+</blockquote>
+Or you can offer source by writing
+somewhere in the docs for your product something like 
+<blockquote>
+If you would like a copy of the GPL source code in this product
+on a CD, please send $9.99 to &lt;address&gt; for the costs of
+preparing and mailing a CD to you.
+</blockquote>
+<p>
+
+Keep in mind though that if you distribute GPL'd binaries online
+(as is often done when supplying firmware updates), you <b>must</b>
+make source available online and inform those downloading
+firmware updates of their right to obtain source.
+
+<p>
+
+Additionally, some people have the mistaken understanding that if
+they use unmodified GPL'd source code, they do not need to
+distribute anything.  This belief is not correct, and is not
+supported by the text of the 
+<a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html">text of GPL</a>.
+Please do re-read it, and you
+will find there is no such provision.  If you distribute any GPL'd
+binaries, you must also make source available as discussed on
+this webpage.
+
+<p>
+
+These days, <a href="http://www.linksys.com/">Linksys</a> is
+doing a good job at complying with the GPL, they get to be an
+example of how to do things right.  Please take a moment and
+check out what they do with
+<a href="http://www.linksys.com/download/firmware.asp?fwid=178">
+distributing the firmware for their WRT54G Router.</a>
+Following their example would be a fine way to ensure you have
+fulfilled your licensing obligations.
+
+
+<!--#include file="footer.html" -->
+
diff --git a/docs/busybox.net/shame.html b/docs/busybox.net/shame.html
index c794c018c..89d8a94a1 100644
--- a/docs/busybox.net/shame.html
+++ b/docs/busybox.net/shame.html
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@ Hall of Shame.
 
 <p>
 
+Here are the details of <a href="/license.html">exactly how to comply
+with the BusyBox license</a>, so there should be no question as to
+exactly what is expected.
 Complying with the Busybox license is easy and completely free, so the
 companies listed below should be ashamed of themselves.  Furthermore, each
 product listed here is subject to being legally ordered to cease and desist
@@ -24,14 +27,17 @@ than sue people.  But he will sue if forced to do so to maintain compliance.
 Do everyone a favor and don't break the law -- if you use busybox, comply with
 the busybox license by releasing the source code with your product.
 
-</p>
+<p>
 
 <ul>
 
+  <li><a href="http://www.trendware.com/products/TEW-411BRP.htm">TRENDnet TEW-411BRP 54Mbps 802.11g Wireless AP Router with 4-Port Switch</a>
   <li><a href="http://www.hauppauge.co.uk/html/mvp.htm">Hauppauge Media MVP</a>
+  <br>Hauppauge has contacted me and is working on resolving this problem.
   </li><li><a href="http://www.buffalo-technology.com/products/wireless/wbr-g54.htm">Buffalo WBR-G54 wireless router</a>
   </li><li><a href="http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=&Section_Id=201522&pcount=&Product_Id=136493">Belkin 54g Wireless DSL/Cable Gateway Router</a>
   </li><li><a href="http://www.dmmtv.com/">Dreambox DM7000S DVB Satellite Receiver</a>
+  <br> Dream-Multimedia has contacted me and is working on resolving this problem.
   </li><li><a href="http://testing.lkml.org/slashdot.php?mid=331690">Sigma Designs EM8500 based DVD players</a>
   </li><li><a href="http://testing.lkml.org/slashdot.php?mid=433790">Liteon LVD2001 DVD player using the Sigma Designs EM8500</a>
   </li><li><a href="http://www.rimax.net/">Rimax DVD players using the Sigma Designs EM8500</a>