[Buildroot] [PATCH] linux: allow firmware to be included in kernel

Thomas Petazzoni thomas.petazzoni at bootlin.com
Thu Apr 22 20:55:24 UTC 2021


Hello Sam,

On Thu, 22 Apr 2021 15:24:52 -0500
Sam Voss <sam.voss at rockwellcollins.com> wrote:

> Add functionality to use the kernel's built-in options to allow binary
> blobs to be included with the kernel. This is equivalent to the blobs
> existing in /lib/firmware, however are available earlier in the boot
> process. This may be useful in situations where a device probes before
> the rootfs is fully available (such as a squashfs not being loaded
> before a usb device probing).
> 
> Signed-off-by: Sam Voss <sam.voss at rockwellcollins.com>

Including firmware in the kernel itself has some serious licensing
implications: it only works for firmware files that have a license that
is compatible with the GPL. If their license is not GPL-compatible,
then you cannot redistribute your kernel image.

Here is the help text of the corresponding option in the Linux kernel:

          WARNING: If you include additional firmware files into your binary
          kernel image that are not available under the terms of the GPL,
          then it may be a violation of the GPL to distribute the resulting
          image since it combines both GPL and non-GPL work. You should
          consult a lawyer of your own before distributing such an image.

I am not a lawyer, but I think the wording is a bit unfortunate: I
think if the firmware is under a license that is compatible with the
GPL, it is fine. But if it has a non GPL-compatible license, it's a
no-go.

So I would be OK to include this, but with the appropriate warning in
the Buildroot options.

Best regards,

Thomas
-- 
Thomas Petazzoni, co-owner and CEO, Bootlin
Embedded Linux and Kernel engineering
https://bootlin.com



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