This information applies to the ATI Proprietary Linux Driver.

The following warning message appears while trying to install the fglrx kernel module:

Warning: loading /lib/modules/x.x.xx-x/kernel/drivers/char/drm/fglrx.o will taint the kernel: non-GPL license - Proprietary. (C) 20XX - ATI Technologies, Starnberg, GERMANY
See http://www.tux.org/lkml/#export-tainted for information about tainted modules
Module fglrx loaded, with warnings

This warning message should appear whenever the kernel module is loaded, if it has been installed and configured correctly. It will also appear in /var/log/XFree86.0.log whenever X starts.

The warning indicates that our kernel module is not governed by the GPL user license - it is NOT open source. In all other respects the driver should work as expected on your system. This warning message should have NO impact on performance or functionality.

However, if you have a strict requirement to ONLY use open-source software on your system, then you should consider using an open-source display driver from the Linux community instead of the ATI Proprietary Linux Driver.

INFO-BASE#4478