esos.elf needs a license

[yaneti]

esos.elf needs at least to be legally redistributable, if not open-sourced. i.e. it needs a license that permits that and is stated in a LICENSE/COPYING file alongside

[kevin-zhm]

esos.elf is the firmware of the mcu in chip, and integrated in the rootfs. Source code of esos.elf is another project, which is not opensource now, but maybe open in the future. If a license is needed now, where should I put it?

[yaneti]

If a license is needed now, where should I put it?

Please consider putting it alongside the file at whatever its primary distribution point is. If its
https://gitee.com/bianbu-linux/buildroot-ext/tree/bl-v2.0.y/board/spacemit/k1/target_overlay/lib/firmware then probably there. Although I would personally choose some other primary location under spacemit-com/k1-firmware or somesuch.

You can take inspiration for the kind of license that would premit redistribution by looking at the various ones in the linux firmware repository https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git/tree/

[yaneti]

Hello there, any progress ? this is is still being redistributed by various parties on missing legal ground..

[kevin-zhm]

Is it better if I prepare to convert the data from the esos.elf binary file into an array and distribute it in a c source file which builtin kernel for easier management and distribution?

[yaneti]

I don't think its a common practice for such a big blob. And probably not acceptable upstream.
Even if its in "source" form it would still needs a license.

[kevin-zhm]

Ok, I will add a license declaration to https://gitee.com/bianbu-linux/buildroot-ext/tree/bl-v2.0.y/board/spacemit/k1/target_overlay/lib/firmware

[yaneti]

Thanks.

https://gitee.com/bianbu-linux/buildroot-ext/raw/k1-bl-v2.2.y/board/spacemit/k1/target_overlay/lib/firmware/LICENSE.spacemit_esos