The GNU General Public License

Printed below is the GNU General Public License (the <#2810#> GPL<#2810#> or <#2811#> copyleft<#2811#>), under which Linux is licensed. It is reproduced here to clear up some of the confusion about Linux's copyright status~--- Linux is <#2812#> not<#2812#> shareware, and it is <#2813#> not<#2813#> in the public domain. The bulk of the Linux kernel is copyright ©\ 1993 by Linus Torvalds, and other software and parts of the kernel are copyrighted by their authors. Thus, Linux <#2814#> is<#2814#> copyrighted, however, you may redistribute it under the terms of the GPL printed below.

<#2838#><#2815#> GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE<#2815#><#2838#> <#2816#>Version 2, June 1991<#2816#> Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc. 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.