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Tracking GPL Violators
An anonymous reader writes "Earlier this week, open source developer Harald Welte made headlines when he personally served warning letters to 13 technology companies for alleged GPL violations. Now in a ZDNet interview, Welte explains the challenges behind tracking down these violators and how he persuades them to comply."
When I saw this story, I immediately thought of that simpsons episode where Homer has the internet startup, and Bill Gates tells his two goons to "Buy him out, boys"
To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
--E.C. Stanton
It isn't a duplicate in this case. It even references the article that you point out. This provides more information, it isn't the same.
1. License software under GPL. Worry about who is using it illegally, devote efforts to tracking down violators and prosecuting them. 2. License software under BSDL. Sit back and relax with a beer.
hello dear sirs my name is jamesh i are india (bihar) can u guide me install red had linux 9?
that they had the sense to serve on SCO..
Please tell me they did..
It's easy... just tip off the BSA. Aren't they the organization that's supposed to enforce stuff like that?
There is a lot of violation of Open Source stuff. A lot of violation is being found on MorphOS where a lot of Open Source stuff is being used.
ixemul, libnix, gcc, binutils and other things and when asking for the source codes then you get a reply telling you that the sources got lost. But still the stuff is being worked on and put in the binary release of their OS.
Using and modifying GPL code is absolutely legal. What is illegal is distributing it only in binary form, and not allowing access to the modifications. This difference isn't very well stated in the article (yes, I read the article, and anyone who doesn't read past the first page won't see it on the second page), it simply says it is illegal to use the code.
Or should we just Slashdot the scum ;-)
There are some voices on Slashdot that claim that GPL violators are just like file sharers. (And that to treat them differently is hypocritical.)
Indeed, both discussions are about copyright. But they are also more fundamentally about fair use.
The GPL is based on the author's copyright and a very generous fair use license that promotes shared investment in the work. When a company takes GPL'd work and resells derived works without respecting the author's copyright, they are taking someone's work and reselling it without respecting the original author's rights.
Now to file sharing. Yes, this is also about copyright and fair use. However, it is rarely about restricting access to a work, it is about broadening that access.
The moral debate is simple: all technology, all creative work, all artistic creation and invention is the result of a continuous cultural stream that stretches back to the origins of our species. Every single creative act is a pebble placed on a mountain built by our ancestors.
Slashdotters tend to understand this intuitively. We don't like patents because they claim ownership of something we know to belong to us all. We don't like GPL violators because they take common property and resell it under false pretenses. We don't like DRM because it takes common property and fences it off. We tolerate file sharing and defend those who do it because we know that the alternative is cultural sterility, decay, and evetually extinction.
There is no contradiction here. Anyone who takes sacks of pebbles from the mountain and says "these are now mine" is a simple rogue, legalised or not, and we all know it.
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I did a little snooping and found .-.-.-.
.-.-.
MorphOS Developer Connection Terms Of Use
1 Content copyright
Files and data you get access to within the MorphOS Developer Connection (MDC) may not be copied or spread in any way without prior written permission from Genesi Luxembourg S.à.r.l (Genesi). No part of this website may be copied. Forum entries may not be quoted or copied outside of this website unless you are the sole author of the entry you quote.
on the developers license for morhpos
So i would say if they are using GNU licensed code , like a GCC version for morphOS then they seem like a rather heavy violater
after doing some more reading i discoverd this
http://www.morphos.net/
morphos.net where many morphos developers are rather irate over lack of payment
Something odd going on in MorphOS land not doubt
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
The Taïwanese company X-Micro responded to the letter, and said they didn't know about the GPL licence restrictions... Wow, they can make hardware, but they can't read a licence agreement.
I've written many free software tools over the years. I've licensed these using the GPL, BSD licenses, and finally switched a couple of years ago to GPL for everything.
Why? There are several reasons:
1. I relicense the same source code commercially. This means companies pay for commercial licenses which do not have any GPL-like requirements. This is of course my right since I'm the author. It provides some nice income. Not possible with BSD licenses.
2. Other free software developers are given a competitive advantage when they use my GPL'd code. Commercial developers can choose to pay if they want to escape the GPL license. When I used BSD licenses, I was actually giving a competitive advantage to those who reused my source code in commercial products.
The GPL is a weapon, of course, and no-one likes being at the receiving end. But for any developer who has spent years (decades, even) writing open source, it's an excellent and far-sighted choice.
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Simply talk to the **AA. Tell them that so and so company is about to release GPL software that is designed to download all sort of movies and music in a fully encrypted fashion. Watch how fast the FBI move in.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
I think you should read the article.
If you can't be bothered here are some relevant points:
What gives you the legal right to pursue the GPL violations? Most of the violations we're seeing are happening in the embedded market. They are running the Linux kernel and I have copyright on parts of the Linux kernel. In the cases that went to court, it was me as an individual copyright holder [against the company in question].
Some people have criticised the GPL for being business-unfriendly, what do you think? I totally disagree.
And, for the BSD fans in this thread:
How do you think the GPL compares with other licenses? It's a philosophical question. The BSD licence allows you to integrate and modify without giving back modifications, while GPL expects you to give back modifications. These are two philosophies of how you develop software. Which you chose depends on the project, for example, if you have a new standard and want it to spread quickly, it's better to use the BSD licence, rather than the GPL.
You sir, seem to be more of a troll than he does (and quite possibly an insensitive clod too)
When in reality anyone can bypass that requirement simply by sticking the software in a library/DLL and late binding to it.
Not at all - you're mistaking it with the LGPL. GPL explicitly states that you *cannot* do this.
If you make something and don't share it your in the wrong? Sorry but that doesn't work.
The whole twisted idea of trying to disassociate ownership from original works is a very selfish position.
Those pebbles that came off the mountain only did so because someone put the effort into doing so. If you want their pebbles you can meet their requirements or go get your own. You however do not have a right to take their pebbles just because you might have/could have/would have done it. Anyone who wants to take the effort/work of others without compensation is just a selfish bastard.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
So, if you use the public domain, how do you prevent people from abusing your work? By naming them when they take work without credit, by avoiding them and refusing to cooperate with them in any way, by expressing respect for people who share work freely and who give proper credit, and by gently trying to convince others to do so.
Many companies which ignore the GPL don't understand the benefits open sharing of their code contributions would give them. It's important for us to communicate better how an open source development model helps everyone (an open code contribution may inspire others to contribute more, to fix bugs, and so on; it is much easier to maintain over version upgrades when it's in the main tree). The problem with the GPL is that it's not a tool of communication. We have focused too much on forcing people to do the right thing, instead of convincing them of the benefits of our approach.
We also need a generally accepted registry for public domain works so that it is provable who the first creator of a work is (that's also necessary as a defense to make sure other people don't claim copyright and sue people for using a work that's in the public domain).
I do value the copyleft effect of the GPL. I think its significance is overestimated, but it does have value. In spite of the arguments above, I think it is of enormous importance that we avoid a split between the copyleft and the non-copyleft camps. In the larger scheme of things, these differences of opinion are minor, and what is important is that we all support the goal of free content. So while I don't approve of the means in this case (GPL enforcement), I do approve of the end (more free content). Still, I ask you to consider putting your code in the public domain.
FFTA:
Q: Why is it important to stop people from violating the GPL?
Welte: You can use all the code out there for free, but if you do modifications you have to give them back to the community -- it's a fairness thing. If we allowed violations to become common, the system would be out of equilibrium. This would result in fewer contributions and it would have a large negative impact on the motivation of developers.
Reflecting this argument back on the file-sharing issue does not work, incidentally. American (Pop) Idol proves, if nothing else, that there are a lot of people willing to do just about anything for a shot to record professionally. Artists make little from their album sales; they make shit-tons from touring. The lion's share of album sales goes to the record company, which then spends it on ads telling you you're depriving the artists when you download music.
The music industry is never going to collapse just because songs are traded online; they'll just turn the screws harder on the artists who get them paid. Disillusioning the small percentage of OSS advocates who actually code by allowing their ideology to be violated is an entirely different story.
The only surefire protection against Microsoft infections is abstinence. - The Onion
PS Extinction is surely hyperbole no?
No, it's not. Many cultural artifacts: languages, forms of art, even technologies have gone extinct because they were unable to spread. Culture is like an organism, it's evolved together with our genome, and it can go extinct just in the same way.
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I used to publish documents under teh GNU GDL, the GPL for text http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl-howto.html - but after actually reading it I found it had some very strange points that kind of limits "fair use" (freedom) as I instended. Now I use Creative Commons 2.0, a license I find more suited for the modern Internet.
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All property is a compromise. The reason we don't live in a socialist paradise (which we used to, a hundred thousand years ago before agriculture and the concept of 'property') is because without ownership, common assets lack stewardship and can be degraged. The tragedy of the commons...
Defining an asset as "property" is a compromise for those cases where it is less evil than the alternatives.
There is no other moral justification for claiming ownership of something. No natural law that says "this land, these animals, these trees are mine to use, eat, burn".
Now, please explain how defining a song or program as "property" is less evil than the alternatives? Artists don't create when they can't sell records? Untrue. Programmers won't work except for money? Laughable.
The truth is that you can hardly prevent people from being creative and generous with their works. It takes large and oppressive regimes to get artists to sign up with the RIAA and equivalents, to get movie makers to work within "the studio system", to get programmers to accept that money is more important than dissemination of their ideas and works.
Copyright is a compromise that - like patents - must provide demonstrable value to the entire community, not just the law makers and their friends - or must be questioned and reviewed.
Personally I'm a prolific writer and programmer and I do think that I have the right to do what I want with my work, but within reason. If I can't maintain my source code, improve and invest in it, I should lose the rights to it.
Property rights should, morally, be tied to stewardship. Take care of something, and we the people grant you the right to "own" it.
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Same thing, different medium.
I'm slowly converting all of what I refer to as '3d graphic stuff' to public domain. (Not that that is important at all)
I do it because it generates a bigger income - well, bigger than any other method of access control. Some will rip apart each graphic for their own use, but the people who want custom work will pay to get it done. If it was easy, everyone would do it I guess.
This is not meant to be an advertising slot for my own wares, just a curious change of mind that had a net financial gain. (That's my intention anyway)
"If companies are only using GPL-licensed software internally, they only need to distribute the source code to their employees."
Is he sure about that? First time I have heard this as a requirement.
all the best,
drew
http://zbcw.sourceforge.net/
FreeMusicPush If you want to see more Free Music made, listen to Free
PS Extinction is surely hyperbole no?
Not really. Entire branches of expression have been driven to extinction (or at least legal limbo and extreme obscurity) by restrictive copyright laws.
For example, look at the amazing breadth of derivative works based on recent and current books, movies and songs, which build on the ideas that the original works have generated and let us examine them from angles which the original authors may not have considered, and from hundreds of fresh and different viewpoints.
Oh, wait. That's called fanfiction, it's technically illegal (*definitely* illegal if you try to make money from it), and regarded very dubiously by the mainstream (yes, I know most of it is crap; most of any art on the internet is).
Copyright law has crushed the derivative work, and most people don't care - because they have bought into the myth that derivative works are "not creative", "just ripping off the original author", etc. So it's OK, they don't deserve protection.
Think of a book that's been published within the last 50 years. Any book. You will not be legally allowed to publish a derivative work of that book as long as you live. You will die before the copyright expires. Maybe the book will be in the public domain in time for your grandchildren to be able to produce art based on it - if they care enough. How inspired are you to comment on the topical issues of the early 1900s?
Sure, if you're lucky, maybe a copyright holder will allow you to publish a derivative work - if they like it, and usually only if they were specifically looking to extend their franchise. If, however, your work is a scathing refutation of the original author's opinions, or a long-dead author's estate is just being contrary, good luck with that. The law is on their side.
See the legal battle over The Wind Done Gone for a recent example. They only won because the work was deemed to be a "parody".
Even the big companies that donate to big OSS projects aren't going to donate $$$ to litigate specific GPL violations.
Here's what I do: Bitty Browser & Andromeda
It is costing ~$16K to litigate each case, but the loser pays. And Welte is pretty confident.
This post written under Gentoo-linux with an SCO IP license.
The major flaw in the BSD liscences is that it does not protect the code from proprietary and commercial intrest such as Microsoft, who want to take the code, create proprietary version of it, and sell that code when they have no right too.
You seem to be making the assumption that the BSD license should be more like the GPL, when it fact it was designed to be its own unique thing and done rather well for itself and code released under it. Nothing about the BSD license says that a company cannot take BSD licensed code and use it however they want, including in a proprietary, commercial product. Part of the intent of the BSD license was to let persons/groups/etc do just that!
You also go with the "nyeh, we need protection for those who do not want or ask for it". If someone wanted to restrict the ability of a company to release their code, they would release it under a license
The GPL is a "Share and enjoy" style of license and persons who release code under it know what they are doing (or shouldn't be releasing code) while BSD is simply a "give credit where credit is due" style of license.
Help Brendan pay off his student loans
"So, if you use the public domain, how do you prevent people from abusing your work? By naming them when they take work without credit, by avoiding them and refusing to cooperate with them in any way, by expressing respect for people who share work freely and who give proper credit, and by gently trying to convince others to do so. "
That's never going to work.
Scenario: you write a successive UNIX derivative, and it is put into the public domain, then installed into a successful embedded product that is sold by the millions across the world.
You find that it includes your public domain work, entirely abused and not credited.
What do you do?
You complain, try to shame, etc.
What do they do?
Nothing, because nothing compels them to, and they continue to ship millions of this product, because all the people that like it, either can't hear you, or simply don't care.
At least with the backing of legislative statute (i.e. copyright law) you can _compel_ them to do something, with the foundation of hundreds of years of law and courts behind you.
"The best response is: "No, we don't. We use the public domain. So there.""
Very immature, and little wonder your opinions aren't taken highly.
Is there a e-mail address where we can anonymously send information on suspected violations??
Gorkman
It's right in the GPL FAQ
If the version has been released elsewhere, then the thief probably does have the right to make copies and redistribute them under the GPL, but if he is imprisoned for stealing the CD he may have to wait until his release before doing so.
If the version in question is unpublished and considered by a company to be its trade secret, then publishing it may be a violation of trade secret law, depending on other circumstances. The GPL does not change that. If the company tried to release its version and still treat it as a trade secret, that would violate the GPL, but if the company hasn't released this version, no such violation has occurred.
I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
The best response is: "No, we don't. We use the public domain. So there."
No, a much better response is: "Reasonable copyright laws, with durations and scope that actually maximize the public good, serve our purposes as copyright owners just as well as laws that are insanely restrictive and have uselessly long terms. GPL software authors would be perfectly happy with copyrights that lasted 28 years, or even less."
As for the argument that we should simply allow everyone to choose whether or not they want to share their changes to their code, rather than "enforcing" it through the GPL... either you're naive or a Microsoft et al shill.
There's nothing morally wrong, or inferior, about using the GPL, any more than there's something wrong with wanting to be paid for your work. Following your line of thought, you should also donate your physical labor to the public good as well, right? And, more specifically, donate your labor to your employer and then argue that you've donated it to the public good.
Developers use the GPL because they hope to get paid for their work. Not paid in currency, typically, and the payment isn't guaranteed by any means, but they do want to be paid by receiving improvements to their own work. The logic is: "I want to write X because I need X, but I don't have the time or resources to create it all by myself. Perhaps if I write half of it, producing something useful but not really complete, and publish the code under the GPL, others will contibute their time to help me complete it. And perhaps they'll even help me make a better X than I would have even if I had time."
Of course, you can do the same thing with public domain code, but if you use the public domain you run a much greater risk of not seeing any of the improvements.
The notion that you can successfully shame people into sharing is simply naive. In particular, it doesn't work well if the non-sharer has a large advertising budget and you do not.
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Several points here.
First, the community is free to take and modify our software under the GPL.
Second, we accept patches and changes to the software but under condition that the copyright is transferred to us. If the authors do not want to do this, that's fine. If they agree, we take over the work and maintain it and it becomes part of the "official" package.
Lastly, this situation is extremely rare. The community mainly consists of users, some who provide feedback on problems, a very few who provide error reports and possibly fixes, and a tiny number who actually contribute. Assigning copyright to us has never been an issue.
What violation is there here?
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Then you haven't though what happens when a big player takes your work and don't want to contribute back. A really big company won't care at all if you whine and moan about them not playing credit to you, and you soon will end with a scenario like that of the Unix wars (which lead Stallman to develope the GPL in the first place).
The coertion in the GPL is only to be used against the sharks who don't adhere to the rules and would damage the open, common pool.
Also I don't agree with GP assertion that public domain is libertarian. Closed, proprietary code is libertarian.
Singularity: a belief in the "God" idea with the "demiurge" relation inverted.
1.) What pro-piracy articles? Provide a few links so I can read them and respond, as I don't remember reading any blatantly pro-piracy articles here.
2.) In general, people copying songs aren't trying to make money at it, while people abusing GPLed software are.
3.) This guy isn't going after individual infringers, unless a corporation is now considered and individual. RIAA is going after individuals who are copying songs for individual use, this guy is going after corporations violating the GPL to make money.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
I write a program from scratch. I place it under the GPL and sell binaries. Can I refuse to supply source?
Sounds like this is allowed. You are allowed to do anything you want to the source, including not distributing any new copies. The fact that you "stopped distributing new copies" before even a single one was distributed seems to fit. You certainly have not violated the GPL, as it is your copyright and it is impossible to violate your own copyright, and the GPL only grants extra methods of violating a copyright.
Of course it will be quickly pointed out that you really didn't GPL your code. If you continue to say it is GPL after a reasonable demonstration that it is not, perhaps you are liable for false advertising?