[tsimionescu]

> The whole Tivo issue came about because GPLv2 does NOT require that a developer ALSO make it so that others can use HARDWARE they create any way they want.

This also used to be my understanding, but it is simply wrong. If you read the article posted by GP, from the lawyer who actually pursued the FSF's case against TiVo, the facts are different. TiVo started by bot providing source code at all, and then had some limitations in their published scripts showing how to install modified sources onto their device. This part was remediated by TiVo during these discussions - TiVo devices then and now allow you to install and run any Linux you want on them.

The one thing they also do that angered Stallman and was clearly not prohibited by the GPLv2 is that TiVo's proprietary userspace software uses hardware support to check whether the running kernel is cryptographically signed by themselves, and refuses to start if it is not. The OSS keeps running and has full access to the hardware.

[pabs3]

Its interesting to note that the GPLv3 allows what TiVo did too, even though RMS didn't want that. Also interesting OTOH is that the LGPL seems to imply that a combined proprietary+LGPL work should continue to work after replacing the LGPL part.

https://events19.linuxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017...