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Some Linux Users Violate Sarbanes-Oxley

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the you-gotta-be-kidding-me dept.

Goyuix writes "According to the IT Observer, publicly owned companies who are using Linux, could be violating the federal securities laws as part of Sarbanes-Oxley. The article goes on to say that companies are required to "disclose ownership of intellectual property to their shareholders." How are these companies supposed to really list out all the IP owners if they were to install a full desktop or server environment - there could be literally thousands of parties listed! What are the current Fortune 500 companies doing, as many of those use Linux in one form or another?" update several people have pointed out that this is about companies who are violating the GPL, not everyone.

2 of 233 comments (clear)

  1. GPL violators are at risk by crumley · · Score: 5, Informative
    The synopsis above is misleading. Its is GPL violators, not simply GPL users who are at risk. From the article:
    "Linux is a powerful operating system," says Jay Michaelson, an author of the study and Wasabi Systems' General Counsel. "But if companies violate the license, the consequences can be more severe than they think. If companies are violating the GPL, they don't have the right to use that software. And if they don't have the right to use the software, they're violating federal law if they claim that they do."
    --
    Preventive War is like committing suicide for fear of death. - Otto Von Bismarck
  2. Article Title Misleading by hattig · · Score: 5, Informative

    Instead of "Might Linux Violate Sarbanes-Oxley?" which it doesn't, it should be "Non-compliance to terms of GPL might violate Sarbanes-Oxley".

    Which makes sense.

    I.e., if you claim to have the right to use Linux for your product, but you aren't complying with the license, you might be violating Sarbanes-Oxley.