IMO it is similar enough. The linux kernel runs programs and libraries. The CPU emulation layer runs programs and libraries where code is in an alien binary format. As Linux can have an OS running on it that is fully or partly closed source the emulation layer should also be able to do that with clever engineering.
Please explain where the analogy breaks down.
In your opinion, what part of the integrated emulation would force most or whole of MorphOS to be GPLed ?
greets,
Staf.
AFAIK Linux kernel license has a special clause that allows non-GPL code to use it.
" NOTE! This copyright does *not* cover user programs that use kernel
services by normal system calls - this is merely considered normal use
of the kernel, and does *not* fall under the heading of "derived work".
Also note that the GPL below is copyrighted by the Free Software
Foundation, but the instance of code that it refers to (the Linux
kernel) is copyrighted by me and others who actually wrote it."
As for the closed source user applications which link with GPL modules (libraries for example) they are simply doing this agaist the license terms (in my view). If those libs are LGPL than all is ok. (source
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html)
