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I'm sure that Linus does not think that programs that run on the Linux kernel should have to be GPL'd. I doubt if Angry Birds or Flash use kernel header files -- they call the kernel, yes, but as userspace programs not as part of the kernel.

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Linus Torvalds says that "normal system calls" are allowed, but once you use the original kernel headers, you're subject to the GPL: http://lkml.org/lkml/2003/12/5/13 The way to avoid this is to use glibc.

In relation to Android and Bionic, I think the following message from the same thread is more relevant:

http://lkml.org/lkml/2003/12/5/162

(in general, the thread was about kernel modules - this message explicitly mentions user-space)

Linus is saying that programs that use the Linux kernel HEADERS need to be under the GPL or LGPL. If you're using system calls(and associated headers), you're fine with any license, but using kernel headers to directly access kernel calls in non-GPL code is not allowed.

Most non-GPL userspace programs use glibc, which is LGPL(and therefore can be linked by any license).

If Google copied the headers verbatim, then created a non-GPL licensed wrapper around those headers, that is a GPL violation.

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