Bingo. SOX should be great for GPL compliance... anybody looking to embed any GPL'ed code is going to think long and hard about whether to release the source or not now.
Unless, that is, the asset in question is the company's inventory. If a business makes devices with some GPL'ed software embedded in them, and doesn't release the code, the GPL automatically terminates their right to distribute their inventory. So they have a bunch of inventory on their books that they can't legally move. Saying it is worth anything is probably a material misrepresentation. I think that is where the SOX trap comes into play.
Spot on. Companies that are cheating the GPL community don't think there could be serious consequences. But if they lie to their investors about cheating the license, then there _could_ be nasty outcomes.
Sarbanes is great for the GPL...
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Bingo. SOX should be great for GPL compliance... anybody looking to embed any GPL'ed code is going to think long and hard about whether to release the source or not now.
Unless, that is, the asset in question is the company's inventory. If a business makes devices with some GPL'ed software embedded in them, and doesn't release the code, the GPL automatically terminates their right to distribute their inventory. So they have a bunch of inventory on their books that they can't legally move. Saying it is worth anything is probably a material misrepresentation. I think that is where the SOX trap comes into play.
Spot on. Companies that are cheating the GPL community don't think there could be serious consequences. But if they lie to their investors about cheating the license, then there _could_ be nasty outcomes. Sarbanes is great for the GPL...