[...] westcoastmusic wrote an interesting post today!.Here’s a quick excerpt The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) has filed two new GPL-based copyright lawsuits for open source software developers of BusyBox, a set of Unix software tools used typically in embedded systems. The SFLC recently settled a similar case it pursued on behalf of the same developers against Monsoon Media, which corrected its failure to make source code available as required by the GPLv2. Monsoon managed to settle with the SFLC by appointing an open source compliance officer, publishing the Busy [...]

[...] Herbrokentoy.com wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) has filed two new GPL-based copyright lawsuits for open source software developers of BusyBox, a set of Unix software tools used typically in embedded systems. The SFLC recently settled a similar case it pursued on behalf of the same developers against Monsoon Media, which corrected its failure to make source code available as required by the GPLv2. Monsoon managed to settle with the SFLC by appointing an open source compliance officer, publishing the Busy [...]

Jay,

A legal win might not be necesary if it becomes known that the FSF is on the case. It’s akin to knowing that a policeman will arrest you if you steal. It makes you behave and it makes you civil.

That said, it would be nice to shut up GPL doubters. I see them every day.

There is already some precedent, e.g.:

German Court convicted Skype of violating the GPL

,—-[ Quote ]
| German district court Munich has convicted Skype of violating the GPL. One of
| the VoIP telephones sold by Skype run Linux, but the GPL text was not handed
| out together with the phone, although the GPL requires that.
`—-

http://liquidat.wordpress.com/2007/07/24/german-court-convicted-skype-of-violating-the-gpl/#comment-27057

German GPL defender claims legal victory

,—-[ Quote ]
| Open-source programmer Harald Welte said Thursday he won a civil court
| case in Germany centered on the General Public License (GPL). The license
| governs many open-source projects and permits anyone to use software
| covered by it, but requires that companies incorporating GPL software
| make the underlying source code available.
`—-

http://news.com.com/2061-10795_3-6113453.html?part=rss&tag=6113453&subj=news

gpl-violations.org project prevails in court case on GPL violation by D-Link

,—-[ Quote ]
| D-Link Germany GmbH, a subsidiary of D-Link Corporation, Taiwan R.O.C.,
| distributed DSM-G600, a network attached storage (NAS) device which uses a
| Linux-based Operating System. However, this distribution was incompliant
| with the GNU General Public License (GPL) which covers the Linux Kernel and
| many other software programs used in the product.
`—-

http://gpl-violations.org/news/20060922-dlink-judgement_frankfurt.html

Wallace’s Appeal Firmly Rejected - GPL Has Nothing to Fear [pdf]

,—-[ Quote ]
| PJ: “Just so you know, Daniel Wallace’s appeal of the ruling
| against him in his pro se quest to overthrow the GPL on antitrust
| grounds, one of SCO’s daydreams too, has been firmly rejected by
| the appeals court, as I knew it would be.”
`—-

http://www.groklaw.net/pdf/WallaceAppealRejected.pdf

Thanks, you too. I just worry that the press consistently gives the impression that the GPL is broadly untested.

[...] Over at the 451 Group’s blog, I found myself facing geo-centricity which assumes nothing is true until its arrival in America. It’s something along the lines of “innovation exists only once Microsoft implements (imitates) an idea and mass-markets it. Anyway, the assumption there was that the GPL requires a test case in court. This isn’t quite the case though. Here is a quick list of GPL court wins: [...]

[...] I’ve already written about how these GPL lawsuits bolster the open source license. It seems the ante continues to get raised and now, with Verizon involved, the GPL and open source will get even more attention and, most likely in the end, credibility. I would bet Verizon will wisely choose to comply and settle and while some would be happy to see a GPL case hit the U.S. courts, the recognition of GPL’s legitimacy keeps on coming. [...]

[...] SFLC wish to raise the profile, prominence and recognition of open source licensing and they are effectively doing so with the series of suits they have launched and subsequently settled. However, would there be just [...]

[...] targeting big names in electronics and IT. We’ve long covered these series of GPL-based suits and settlements, but this latest round comes at an interesting time for open source software and [...]