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TiVo Says It Could Suffer Under GPLv3

Posted by kdawson on from the no-prevention-of-hacking dept.

Preedit writes to tell us that those busy folks over at InformationWeek have been scrutinizing yet more SEC filings, and Novell and Microsoft aren't the only ones concerned about certain provisions in the final draft of GPLv3. TiVo worries too. The problem is that TiVo boxes are Linux-based. They're also designed to shut down if the software is hacked by users trying to circumvent DRM features. But GPLv3 would prohibit TiVo's no-tamper setup. "If the currently proposed version of GPLv3 is widely adopted, we may be unable to incorporate future enhancements to the GNU/Linux operating system into our software, which could adversely affect our business," TiVo warns in a regulatory filing cited by InformationWeek."

3 of 710 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Huh? by LocalH · · Score: 5, Informative

    Notice they specifically said "GNU/Linux".

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    FC Closer
  2. Well, duh! by jpetts · · Score: 5, Informative

    TiVo operates on a business model that GPL3 is **expressly** designed to eliminate.

    See this essay by RMS and search for "tivoization".

    Nothing in the least bit surprising here...

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    Call me old fashioned, but I like a dump to be as memorable as it is devastating - Bender
  3. Re:Just a kernel doesn't do much for you by harlows_monkeys · · Score: 5, Informative

    Even if Linux doesn't go GPL3, presumably they're using a lot of GNU userspace stuff, like glibc

    Well, glibc is not under GPLv2, so it seems unlikely to go GPLv3. It is under LGPL.