Theo de Raddt has pointed out that the /dev/crypto testing program in FreeBSD, like in NetBSD, was derived from a test program which he never published with a free license. It has now been deleted from the NetBSD tree as well.

Apparantly Theo has watched NetBSD’s cvs commitmail. jonathan has imported the code from FreeBSD and then added the NetBSD RCSID. Unfortunatelly, Theo de Raddt has found this and then jonathan was forced to back this out within an hour after the code has hit NetBSD’s source tree.

Apparently the folks at FreeBSD don’t want this to be happen in FreeBSD also. Sam Leffler (the person who imported the code into FreeBSD) firstly response: “You didn’t say anything when it was published with you referenced as author.” … “Feel free to sue me.” But Theo has replied “If I say nothing, Berne convention and the national laws matching that charter apply.” and “That is not what this about. Please remove it from FreeBSD too. The way it looks now, you have made a derived work from work of mine without permission.”

According to the law, Theo’s request is legal. Seems that he doesn’t like the usage of his code in FreeBSD and NetBSD. Sam Leffler apparently has the tend to delay the removal of the code, as he said “I’m busy for the next few months doing non-FreeBSD work. I’ll deal with your complaint when I have the time. If this is unsatisfactory feel free to contact someone else.”

I am not a Matthew Dillon fan, but it seems that Dillon did much better than Raddt did.