diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/spl/default.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/spl/default.nix
index 96565fffa0ee..63a2a8454aa0 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/spl/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/spl/default.nix
@@ -31,6 +31,22 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     description = "Kernel module driver for solaris porting layer (needed by in-kernel zfs)";
+
+    longDescription = ''
+      This kernel module is a porting layer for ZFS to work inside the linux kernel. 
+
+      LICENSE NOTE: the Linux kernel is licensed under the GNU General Public
+      License which is incompatible with ZFS which is licensed under the Sun CDDL.
+      While both the GPL and CDDL are open source licenses their terms are such that
+      it is impossible to simultaneously satisfy both licenses. This means that a
+      single derived work of the Linux kernel and ZFS cannot be legally distributed.
+
+      The ZFS code can be modified to build as a CDDL licensed kernel module
+      which is not distributed as part of the Linux kernel. This makes a Native ZFS
+      on Linux implementation possible if you are willing to download and build it
+      yourself.
+    '';
+
     homepage = http://zfsonlinux.org/;
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.cddl;
diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/zfs/default.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/zfs/default.nix
index 43e7b2fd95dc..fa0a5b47f55c 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/zfs/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/zfs/default.nix
@@ -25,7 +25,25 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   '';
 
   meta = {
-    description = "Native ZFS for Linux";
+    description = "ZFS Filesystem Linux Kernel module";
+    longDescription = ''
+
+      ZFS is a filesystem that combines a logical volume manager with a
+      Copy-On-Write filesystem with data integrity detection and repair,
+      snapshotting, cloning, block devices, deduplication, and more. 
+
+      LICENSE NOTE: the Linux kernel is licensed under the GNU General Public
+      License which is incompatible with ZFS which is licensed under the Sun CDDL.
+      While both the GPL and CDDL are open source licenses their terms are such that
+      it is impossible to simultaneously satisfy both licenses. This means that a
+      single derived work of the Linux kernel and ZFS cannot be legally distributed.
+
+      The ZFS code can be modified to build as a CDDL licensed kernel module
+      which is not distributed as part of the Linux kernel. This makes a Native ZFS
+      on Linux implementation possible if you are willing to download and build it
+      yourself.
+      '';
+          
     homepage = http://zfsonlinux.org/;
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.cddl;