There is momentum developing to litigate open source licensing violations, fueled in large part by the release this summer of GNU GPLv3, which set forth more aggressive enforcement provisions than its predecessor. Now, the SFLC is attempting to address the failure of companies to release source code for software based on GPLv2 licenses, said Black Duck Software CEO Doug Levin.
Read more »Verizon Under the Gun for GPL Infringement
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GNU: Why Copyleft?
"...In the GNU Project we usually recommend people use copyleft licenses like GNU GPL, rather than permissive non-copyleft free software licenses. We don't argue harshly against the non-copyleft licenses—in fact, we occasionally recommend them in special circumstances—but the advocates of those licenses show a pattern of arguing harshly against the GPL..."
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Sun fires a GPL3 warning shot
SUN IS NOW talking details about xVM, it's new family of VM related management products. There are some previews now, with more meaty bits to follow soon...xVM Ops Center is free to download, it is GPL'd of course
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MPAA's University wiretapping product taken down for violating copyright
"...The GPL requires anyone who makes a program based on GPL'ed code has to release the source code for their program and license it under the GPL. The MPAA refused multiple requests to provide the sources for their spyware, so an Ubuntu developer sent a DMCA notice to the MPAA's ISP and demanded that the material be taken down as infringing."
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Proprietors not as friendly to infringers as Free Software copyright holders
"...The GNU GPL is not an “open source” license except that the Open Source Initiative organization placed the GPL on a list of approved licenses. This is trivial in comparison to writing and maintaining the license.
Read more »In Defense of The GPL
The GPL is the most widely used open source license on Earth, yet it has never been tested in a U.S. courtroom.
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Asus Eee PC GPL Problem Appears Solved
Against the backdrop of cries from the GNU/Linux community, Asus has taken steps to correct the availability of the source code for its Eee PC.
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ASUS eeePC: First impressions and GPL violations
I bought myself an ASUS eeePC. It also ships with Linux, which (I thought) was a good indication that the hardware is well supported by Linux. (Not so; read on.)
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Closing open source loopholes
Say what you want about GPLv3, but the update to the most popular open source software license continues to close loopholes that have been used to avoid sharing source code, patent protection and other freedoms that the authors intended. Still, we have yet to see whether this closes off any appeal of the GPL and even open source in general for vendors, developers and users.
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GPL Infringement Lawsuits Target Two More Companies
The Software Freedom Law Center has filed two more GPL infringement lawsuits on behalf of an open-source software project. The second-ever GPL lawsuit alleges that Xterasys and High-Gan Antennas failed to honor "source-code transparency," in violation of Busybox's GPLv2 license.
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Second Round of GPL Infringement Lawsuits Filed on Behalf of BusyBox Developers
The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) today announced that it has filed two more copyright infringement lawsuits on behalf of its clients, two principal developers of BusyBox, alleging violation of the GNU General Public License (GPL). The defendants in the lawsuits are Xterasys Corporation and High-Gain Antennas, LLC.
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Free Software Foundation Releases GNU Affero General Public License Version 3
"BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA—Monday, November 19, 2007—The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today published the GNU Affero General Public License version 3 (GNU AGPLv3).
Read more »Blue GNU Wrong About Xming - Xming No Longer GPL
Recently, Blue GNU reported that the Xming software is released under the terms of the GNU GPLv2, and that the developer might be violating its terms. Harrison now states his program is no longer under the GPL. So here's an update.
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Open Source Alternatives To Geek Squad
Best Buy's Geek Squad has certainly enjoyed its share of press in recent months. But I found some amusing things about some of their policies -- which were recently leaked to the public (thanks to a link found at Digg.com). The policies demonstrate that the "agents" are expected to make legal judgment calls regarding such applications as P2P options.
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GPLv3, bug fixes, and complexity
After an interesting free software licensing event in Helsinki, I got thinking about licence complexity. At the conference, people had two types of questions (a) Why didn't GPLv3 additionally solve X problem? and (b) Why is it so long?
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