Alexander Terekhov wrote: [...] > http://www.macnewsworld.com/story/43996.html
I like this: <quote> Some of Welte's targets have complied voluntarily, but one suspects that is because they were simply unaware of the problem. Welte apparently has no authority to enforce these copyrights. These actions are not really legal enforcement -- more the equivalent of picketing companies that use cheap overseas labor. It is an attempt to embarrass, not enforce. It is also impossible to avoid observing that Welte often proceeds without the benefit of legal analysis. For instance, he targeted AOpen, which responded, that he "should have directed that letter to their Taiwanese mother company, since the products that I claim are in violation of the GPL are not sold in Germany. They don't get it. Its their problem if they don't comply with the license. Its they who are liable for copyright infringement. I don't care which particular subsidiary of a multinational corportation [sic] is responsible. It is in the best mutual interest of any subsidiary to assure that they comply with license conditions." Actually, AOpen's point was probably that there was no action under German law because lack of an infringing product in Germany meant it was not within German jurisdiction. But, it so happened, that AOpen was actually compliant, having offered the source code on a German Web site, as Welte later noted in his blog. Nevermind. This kind of stuff gives lawyers the willies, on the one hand. Lay commentators who post on blogs or bulletin boards about open source legal issues without the benefit of legal reasoning are a dime a dozen, but at least they don't usually sue people. On the other hand, who would you rather be sued by: Welte or the FSF? Given that most of Welte's complaints would fail in the U.S. on procedural grounds that would allow a defendant to jettison the case quickly, he is my plaintiff of choice. Other enforcement of the GPL has been of less note. The MySQL case, which is the only lawsuit ever filed in the U.S. regarding GPL code, was disposed of on unrelated grounds. The FSF has conducted regular informal enforcement, but none has garnered quite the press of the Linksys matter. In 2002, the FSF engaged in a GPL enforcement action against OpenTV, a San Francisco company that ships a set-top box containing Linux. According to Forbes, OpenTV ended up paying the FSF $65,000. But OpenTV also reportedly complied by making available the requested code, so the purpose of the payment is unclear. The FSF's stated mission is not to demand money damages for GPL violations. Meanwhile, we are all waiting for the other shoe to drop. And while rumors occasionally circulate that lawsuits will be filed -- as in the case of OpenTV -- there is a big difference between making threats and filing lawsuits. So, get used to standing on one foot, while legend of Linksys lives on. </quote> regards, alexander. _______________________________________________ Gnu-misc-discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnu-misc-discuss
