---
key: linux-syscall-exception-gpl
short_name: Linux Syscall Exception to GPL
name: Linux Syscall Exception to GPL
category: Copyleft Limited
owner: Linux Foundation
is_exception: yes
spdx_license_key: Linux-syscall-note
other_urls:
    - http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.txt
    - https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/COPYING
standard_notice: |
    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.
    Also note that the only valid version of the GPL as far as the kernel
    is concerned is _this_ particular version of the license (ie v2, not
    v2.2 or v3.x or whatever), unless explicitly otherwise stated.
    Linus Torvalds
    This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
    under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 as published by
    the Free Software Foundation.
    This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
    ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
    FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for
    more details.
    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
    with this library; see the file COPYING. If not, write to the Free Software
    Foundation, 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
ignorable_copyrights:
    - copyrighted by the Free Software Foundation
ignorable_holders:
    - the Free Software Foundation
---

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.

Also note that the only valid version of the GPL as far as the kernel
is concerned is _this_ particular version of the license (ie v2, not
v2.2 or v3.x or whatever), unless explicitly otherwise stated.

Linus Torvalds