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Skype Gives Up Anti-GPL Appeal

Posted by kdawson on from the green-enveloope dept.

l2718 writes "Yesterday we discussed Skype's appeal of a German court's ruling against them regarding a violation of the GPL. Harald Welte (the plaintiff) now reports in his blog that following oral argument, Skype decided to drop the appeal and accept the lower court ruling in Weite's favor. More details and analysis at Groklaw. Congratulations to Mr. Welte and GPL-violations.org!"

3 of 123 comments (clear)

  1. Two thoughts on this by stirz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This ist the first time, a foreign firm loses in a German court in a GPL-related case. Furthermore, the judge pointed out that it is not sufficient to offer the related sources only on the internet and mention this in a rather general way in the product manual.

    Go Harald :-)

    Regards

    Stirz

  2. Re:As Groklaw says... by William+Robinson · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Absolutely

    Also,

    If a publisher wants to publish a book of an author that wants his book only to be published in a green envelope, then that might seem odd to you, but still you will have to do it as long as you want to publish the book and have no other agreement in place.

    It is freedom, in a way, that binds you with some responsibility. And how difficult it is for many people to understand.

    One does have freedom to choose not to drive on roads. But when you choose to drive on roads, there is binding of following certain traffic rules, for the benefit of all. And one must understand the logic behind those bindings.

    Go...Penguin ...Go...

    --
    hilarious
  3. Re:Important lesson: by Rhapsody+Scarlet · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Shouldn't that be "don't fuck with the GNU"? I mean, I know people are hesitant to refer to the Free Software Foundation and use the term "open source" more often than "free software", but not referencing the GNU Project when talking about the GNU General Public License is pretty ridiculous. The penguin may have helped spread free software and all, but this isn't his fight.