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Software Freedom Conservancy Funds GPL Suit Against VMWare
Jeremy Allison - Sam writes with this excerpt from a news release from the Software Freedom Conservancy: Software Freedom Conservancy announces today Christoph Hellwig's lawsuit against VMware in the district court of Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany. This is the regretful but necessary next step in both Hellwig and Conservancy's ongoing effort to convince VMware to comply properly with the terms of the GPLv2, the license of Linux and many other Open Source and Free Software included in VMware's ESXi products. Serge Wroclawski points out the SFC's technical FAQ about the suit. One nugget: This case is specifically regarding a combined work that VMware allegedly created by combining their own code (“vmkernel”) with portions of Linux's code, which was licensed only under GPLv2. As such, this, to our knowledge, marks the first time an enforcement case is exclusively focused on this type of legal question relating to GPL
I'll never get why the GPL is considered controversial with regard to its legality. Litigation should basically be:
...
It this your code?
No.
Why are you distributing this code?
We have a license.
What are the conditions of the license?
If that was the case VMware would (or should) have apologized, and removed the offending code to get into compliance. The fact that things are this far along signals at least some degree of maliciousness towards the terms of the GPL.
Hopefully, the penalty doesn't come out to be a meaningless fine. Instead, it should be a meaningless fine and forced compliance to the GPL - not through removal of the offending code (they have passed on that), but through open-sourcing of the entire product via GPLv2, effective immediately.
Why can't all fpga/microcontroller manufacturers just release free optimizing compilers???
It's only "controversial" in software where people think that "what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine" is an acceptable way to think about other people's work.
The GPL is a clever hack of copyright law written by someone that knew what he was doing. I think people see RMS and think they can get away with sh*t because they think he's not smart enough to hire a real lawyer.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
It is about freedom, just not the freedom of the programmer. It's about the users. Freedom is not an absolute condition, it's always a balance the rights of various stakeholders. The cliche is that my right to swing my fist ends where your nose begins. Most software licenses restrict the rights of the users in favour of the programmer. The BSD licenses are vary liberal but they only focus on programmers that want to use the code. As a user you don't know anything about your rights if code is based on BSD code. Usually its 'free', but there is no guarantee. The programmer has no obligation to the user. The GPL is about giving assurances to users. If software is based on GPL code the user knows for sure that he will be able to get the code and use it.
My understanding is that your description is inaccurate.
Yes, they have implemented a number of Linux APIs in their own code. Additionally, they have sucked in bits of GPL Linux code that implemented bits of those APIs (i.e. NOT reimplemented, as WINE does). This is to allow ESXi to be able to re-use drivers from Linux, as you say. However, they didn't stop there, from what I understand. They also have ESXi use Linux GPL drivers.
My understanding, from what I've read, is that ESXi didn't just re-implement Linux APIs. ESXi also heavily depends on GPL licensed Linux code, both in the partial-reimplementation of Linux APIs, and in sucking in Linux GPL drivers. The issue is this direct re-use of GPL code, and ESXi's heavy dependence on that GPL code. That dependence likely makes ESXi a derived work of the Linux GPL code, and as such it - in its *entirety* - must be distributed in accordance with the GPL.
Alternatively, VMWare are quite free to not use code they didn't write and don't own, if they don't like the licence conditions.
This is very different from what WINE does, and to characterise the situation as like WINE seems to be quite inaccurate.
I use Friend/Foe + mod-point modifiers as a karma/reputation system.