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What is the Best Way to Handle a GPL Violation?
DeadSea queries: "When you find that somebody is violating the GPL by distributing your code or a derivative of your code as a closed source product, how do you go about handling it? I have found two violations of the GPL for my Java Utilities, in the last month. The Free Software Foundation says that the copyright holder is the only person empowered to act. If you are the copyright holder, how do you communicate with the offenders? I know folks here must have dealt with this before: Linksys, SCO, Castle Technology, United Linux, and others. Personally, I would like to believe that with a little nudging (and without lawyers), I can resolve the things. As such, I would especially appreciate any example letters or other documents that might be effective."
Call the company and ask for the contact information of their legal department.
Pay a lawyer a small fee to have him write a letter to the offending company suggesting that their GPL violation will result in litigation if they don't work with you to resolve the problem.
The offending company's legal department will probably ignore you if you address them directly, so it helps a lot to have a lawyer write the letter (and send it certified mail with return receipt - that always scares people)
I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
Over at Wikipedia (which is distributed under the GNU-FDL), there's a page that lists other sites using Wikipedia's content.
To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
--E.C. Stanton
This is what you should do.
~To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation. -Yann Martel
It sounds like your goal is to get them to respect your license. Approach them with firm honesty and you may get what you're looking for. If that doesn't work then YOU have whether you want to fight it with lawyers. The cheapest way out would be to assign your copyright to the FSF and let them (as the legal copyright holders) handle it.
In terms of copyright protection, in order to bring suit your copyright must be registered with the US Copyright Office.
Computer programs have their copyrights registered under the category of "literary work." For more information see The US Copyright Office website.
You may be able to do a 'cease-and-desist' type thing without it (hey, under the DMCA you can probably send a CaD to anybody you want for anything, without necessarily having cause) but I don't know what sort of proof you have to have that the work was originally yours.
This is a definite warning though -- if you're developing Open Source and want to be really sure you can enforce the freedom of your code, register that copyright!
Freedom isn't free; its price is the well-being of others.
That link is already in the /. article?
Join moola.com, play games to earn money.
There is no contract. Take a look at http://www.groklaw.net there was a discussion about GPL and how to enforce it.
You should first look to register your copyright. This costs $30 and is otherwise relatively simple. This gives you certain legal benefits in a potential litigation and serves as a deterence. You should start pouring over Title 17 so that you know the law. Don't be afraid to read it yourself -- copyright law is actually pretty accessible.
After that you should send them a letter stating that (1) your work is copyrighted and is not public domain (2) you offer a licence (the GPL) which is seeks certain forms of compensation in return for using your work. That compensation comes in the form of reciprical licencing to their derivitive copyrights. Provide them with a copy of the GPL. (3) State that they have made no attempt to comply with those terms. State the actions taken by them that violate the terms. State that they have not purchased or seceured any licence to use your copyrighted material in the manner they are using it. Don't be wishy-washy. Say things like "you are basing your business on piracy of my intellectual property". (4) State that as of this letter they are on notice that they are violating the law and that if they do not cease and desist then any willful and knowing infringment may be subject to increased penelties under the copyight law. (5) Remind them that damages for infringement include any profits attributable to the infringement.
If you feel like it, offer them a real licence to do what they are doing for an appropriate cost, say $2million or some other number you'd be happy with.
Don't be afraid to go talk to an IP lawyer. If you want to proceed beyond telling them to stop pirating your stuff, then this will be essential. Use the phone book. Make it clear to the people you talk to that you are interested in discussing retaining them on a contingency basis only, that your have registered your copyright, and that you believe a business is willfully pirating your code.
You do not need to be registered, That was what half the berne convention is about. Its advisable before a case but not actually necessary to bring suit.
If a first you don't succeed, your a programmer...
Do NOT tell them they must now releaes all their source code to the public.
Besides, the GPL cannot force them to do that. They always have the choice between 1) comply with the GPL and release their source or 2) plead guilty of copyright violation and pay a fine. For example, you can bet that if MS, Adobe, whatever, is caught with GPL code in a major product, they'll likely choose the second option.
Opus: the Swiss army knife of audio codec
How have you determined that they are violating the GPL?
If you simply know that they have incorporated your code into their software, but you have not acquired a copy of their software (perhaps by purchasing it), you have no rights to their source under the GPL.
Many companies allow you to download the source directly from their website, but really, they don't have to do this. The minimum requirement of the GPL is to provide the source along with the binaries. Providing the source independently is often more convenient for the vendor (and is certainly part of being a good citizen), but it is not actually necessary...
Just be careful you don't start making threats, to later find out that these folks are *in fact* complying with the GPL.
Good luck!
this is the reason developes might be interested in pre-paid legal. Its around 30 bucks a month, and any time you need a lawyer, you get the first consultation/letter/contract review/etc done for free by a reputable firm in your area. If this guy had pre-paid service, he could get the official certified lawyer letter he needs at no cost. If he then needed to sue the infringing company, he can choose to hire the firm that drafted the letter, and they will already be familiar with the case. Not to mention, you can use it for any legal dispute, not just code, so its a good all around thing. Also, people sell pre-paid legal for a living, but I dont, otherwise youd see some kinda of referrer tag in this URL: Pre-Paid Legal. Im just offering a suggestion.
Moderation Totals: Flamebait=2, Troll=1, Redundant=1, Insightful=6, Overrated=1, Underrated=1, Total=12. (not mine)
I remember back when the first version of client/server doom was done by a Russian fellow named Sergey Malkovkin, a.k.a. Fly. He decided not to release the source at the time, and was harassed for this omission by a #doomworld regular whom shall remain nameless (since I cannot recall his nick). Anyway, aside from flaming Fly in the irc channel, this vigilante also took the liberty of hijacking the #csdoom (was that the name? I forget) channel which Fly had set up for game matchmaking purposes. The vigilante set up a bot, with ops, which then kicked everyone immediately after they attemtped to join the channel. I for one was rather irate, as I was trying to enjoy a few matches myself. Another channel was set up. Fly retaliated by hardcoding the next csdoom release to block the vigilante's ip. When he finally relented and released the source, there was some interesting controversy in the Doom community when that little bit of ip-blocking code was discovered.
It is sad though that you have to suffer any discrimination for using the GPL.
McBride and Microsoft (the 2 main anti-gpl propagandists) should be strung up for this.
True genius is grasping a situation like a peice of fruit, and peircing it just right so that it drains dry.
The GPL grants redistribution rights under certain conditions. It has nothing to do with use.
Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
- Did you copyright your code properly? If not, then bend over and take it as a learning experience.
- How did you identify that YOUR copyrighted code was used in their products? Be careful that you have rock-solid proof before making those claims, or you could face a sizeable counter-suit.
- Did you take any steps to secure your code prior to your "release?" If not, you'll have NO chance of convincing a court that any "trade secrets" were stolen by the company, including any "trade secrets" regarding your particular implementations.
In short, I looked at your utilities and to be blunt, you present no new algorithms nor methods of processing which would indicate an original work worthy of a legal copyright. It might be original to you, even "created" from scratch using algorithms and principles from textbooks or other tutorials, but I don't see it rising to the level of being original works in the legal sense.My suggestion: write this off to a learning experience, and in the future takes steps to legally copyright and protect any works you consider valuable. And by valuable, I mean anything you consider worth the time, money and effort of legally protecting.
Simply saying something is licensed is worthless unless you take steps to enforce that license from the get-go.
Welcome to the real world.
I ever so recently had to deal with a copyright AND trademark issue. First, find a lawyer who understand the GPL. Then have their office send a cease and desist order as the owner of the material being distributed. If they fail to respond, take legal action in a federal court.
This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is mine.
Also, registering your copyright before the infringement occurs entitles the copyright holder to obtain attorney fees as part of the judgment. Failing to register means your lawyer is out-of-pocket.
those are tiny excerpts of the work. which is legal under copyright law.
but if the New York Times decides to plublish your entire short story, thats different then a few sentances properly quoted.
As the copyright holder, YOU can negotiate terms for the use of your code. If you're dead set against anyone using it commerically, let them know and don't let them use your code (but overall the community will suffer).
If you think you should be paid for your work, and its a commercial product, ask them for fair compensation.
Keep in mind, though, that there are several reasons not to make ludicris requests:
a) it hurts the community overall - by working out a deal with the company/violator directly, you can potentially work out terms that you're both happy with. Ultimately this makes Open Source look more [financially] viable in the corporate realm.
b) you have the power to contribute back to the community 2-fold - one with your code; and 2 with a financial contribution to the organization of your choice (FSF, etc) based on some kind of negotiation with the violator (like I mentioned in a above); compromise by allowing them to keep their derivative work closed source (and simultaneously preserving their business model), but ask that they contribute X% of the profits to the FSF, or yourself, or whatever you deem appropriate [within reason of course, the more companies that are successful with open source business models, the better].
c) don't ask them to open their source!!! Before modding this post as flamebait because it contains a controversial statement, hear me out... Most companies DON'T have a product if they are forced to open their source code. Some do, however, it makes it much more difficult to do from a business sense, and it makes Linux very incredulous in the eyes of investors / Venture capitalists, etc.
HOWEVER - business models DO exist that are helping the linux community AND succeeding commercially. A good example is Tivo. They've created a successful consumer product and they haven't released the sourcecode - BUT the community saw something useful in Tivo and thus FreeVO and MythTV, etc. were created to fill the non-commercial niche. In addition, they help the OS community by allowing hacks while still trying to maintain business income (and food on the tables of their programmers/IT staff).
We can't have it both ways, guys! We can't on one hand piss and moan about the lack of IT jobs, while simultaneously demanding total financial compensation for our community contributions. The bottom line is that we have to work with what we have and strike a balance with the corporate Linux companies.
The linux community is searching for the elusive "business model" - I'll tell you what it is: It's compromise. It's allowing a business to use your code and make a profit in exchange for providing yourself and the business/GPL violator with a reasonable symbiotic relationship. "Clone" applications will surface immediately to fill the market of people that aren't willing to pay for the product (insert Tivo / FreeVo example here). The businesses can market their products to the general society and make money; and they can help the Open-Source community develop a "free" (for those with the tech know-how) equivalent.
d) Everyone PROFITs!
Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.
Yes, I , in fact, stole the following code from your very complex tab to whitespace "utility"
" ");
//sToChange is the string containing tabs to be converted to whitespace
sConverted=sToChange.replaceAll("\t",
No way I could come up with something as complex as that!! And to wrap it in a class that takes command line arguments!?!? Sheer genius!!
Well, this isn't exactly right. In the US, at least, copyright violation is generally a civil charge, not a criminal charge. Basically, this means that you have a right to sue them. If you win, then you can likely get either an injunction ordering them to stop using your work, collect damages or both. You may collect damages for past infringement and get an injunction preventing future infringement, for example.
In either case, two things to do: 1. register the copyright. 2. See a lawyer.
(BTW... That wasn't legal advice. IANAL, so I can't give it....)
Do NOT tell them they must now releaes all their source code to the public.
If that's what you want them to do, then say so. Don't pussyfoot around. You can't force them to release anything that is whole-cloth theirs, but you anything that's a clear derivative of yours, their legal choice is to release the source, or face a judge.
The first letter should be business like, and reasonably noncombative. If you'd be happy to just have them release the source code (on an ongoing basis), then let them know that, if they do so, you'll chaulk it up to a misunderstanding and let it be.Also let them know what if they force you to spend much more time onthe issue that you'll be charging just for your time. Remember that this is consulting rates, so $100/hour isn't even starting to get unreasonable.
It's probably worth mentioning that if lawyers start logging time, the price goes much higher much faster.
Send the message to the best contact you have at the company. If you can find their legal eagles, then CC the message to them.
I'd also CC a copy to a reasonably disinterested third party who would know to log the message for posterity. The FSF might be a good bet.
If they're distributing your code and/or documentation on the net , and they're clearly non-responsive, then you can also send a DMCA takedown notice to their ISP. (The law is there. You may hate it for other reasons, but it's a tool for you to use like any other).
Remember to stand firm on your rights. If they're using your code, you have the right to tell them to stop. If you're seriously pissed at them, you can simply tell them to stop distributing your code. If they refuse to stop, you can go to a judge and get an injunction against them (It would be in the context of suing them for copyright invringement).
If you want to get paid for the work that they've stolen, then decide how much you want per copy and ask them for it. Worst case is that they'll tell yo to drop dead and you'll be forced to go to court to get the money from them. Note: you can get more money if your copyright is filed... the sooner the better. Until the copyright is filed, the most you can get out of them is 'damages'.. which will (probably) top out at the actual price they are charging for the code. Once you filee, then the cap is the greater of actual damages and $30,000+ per copy. That $30L+ can be a pretty sturdy barganing tool.
Note: IANAL If in doubt, talk to a real lawyer. There seem to be a number of reasonably good ones at groklaw. Perhaps one of them lives in your area.
NoteL if you really don't think you are willig to drag these people thru court, then you can always assign your copyright to the FSF (or assign them the right to enforce it). At that point the FSF can start wailing on them with authority.
Free Software: Like love, it grows best when given away.
> I would send the email to their General Counsel
At which point you shut down all possible dialog except through legal channels. Every company I've been with has had a policy that once something goes to legal, legal takes care of it from then on, because it's assumed that anything anyone else says will end up scrutinized in court.
Get hold of a product manager, who will eventually connect you to a development manager. You might need to speak to someone in corporate communications first -- it's their job to speak with random folks who have questions and concerns about their product. Don't make legal threats or insinuations, and don't assume everyone knows what's going on, because it might boil down to a single developer's brainfart or laziness. Hopefully you want to fix the problem, not start a crusade.
Keep in mind the developer might not even have known the code was GPL'd, he or she might have gotten it from someone else who was violating the GPL.
I've finally had it: until slashdot gets article moderation, I am not coming back.
First talk to your lawyer. He or she will help you with the details.
If you don't have, and don't want to have a lawyer, then first you should put them on notice. Identify the code that you believe they have misappropriated, and the product or place where they are publishing it without your permission. Ask them to respond with their agreement to comply, and send your notice to the company CEO by certified mail.
You can file a lawsuit for damages. Statutory damages are about $500 per work. If you register your copyrighted code with the copyright office of the library of congress then you'll also be able to collect reasonable lawyer's fees should you prevail.
If the company fails to respond, or fails to agree to respect your rights then you can also file a lawsuit to get a permanent injunction barring them from violating your rights, and possibly for triple damages.
If you had a lawyer, you could also make him available for another mutually agreeable negotiated license, but negotiating that yourself it is very easy to fall to charges of extortion. The only real solution for doing this without a lawyer is to set up standard commercial licensing terms, and direct their attention to it.
LibBT: BitTorrent for C - small - fast - clean (Now Versio
Read the USA copyright law http://www.copyright.gov/title17/circ92.pdf ... you can just file a legal action in the proper federal court. AFAIK, you have to register the copyrights first, and damages can be limited if you register late, but you can get the offender to stop the infringement and pay your legal fees no matter how late you register things.
NOTE: there are forms you can fill out to get a break on the filing fees if you are truly impoverished.
"If you are the copyright holder, how do you communicate with the offenders?"
Through a letter to their CEO, first, letting them know they have infringed, politely requesting that they cease and desist the infringement. Then via letters from your lawyer to theirs, probably.
Getting a temporary injunction is tricky - you are usually asked to post a bond in case the other guy prevails, and it can be hefty. However, the judge can require the infringing party destroy (or hand over to the court) all develo9pment copies, finished works, copies, etc. and pull them from distribution channels.