Andre, If they give you a hard time, show them this (thanks to Groklaw):
http://blogs.computerworld.com/15254/sflc_hammers_gpl_violators?source=rss_blogs Just a few paragraphs below: "...Almost everyone uses Linux, thanks to its growing popularity in consumer electronics in everything from TVs to DVR (digital video recorders) to DVD recorders to you name it. Some companies, however, think that they can use Linux and open-source software for their products without releasing the source code or, in some cases, paying the creators. Wrong. The SFLC (Software Freedom Law Center) is lowering the boom on more than a dozen companies including Best Buy, Samsung, Westinghouse and JVC, all which have violated the GPL (GNU General Public License). Bad news, guys: you can't get away with it. The SFLC announced that they were suing these companies because they had ripped off BusyBox, a popular collection of Linux/Unix utilities that is known as the "Swiss Army Knife" for embedded Linux. To be exact, these companies have been accused of using BusyBox illegally in such devices as "Best Buy's Insignia Blu Ray DVD Player, Samsung HDTVs, Westinghouse's 52-inch LCD Television, and more than a dozen other products that the defendants have continued to sell without the permission of the software's copyright holders." Specifically, the companies behind these, and almost 20 other products, aren't living up to the terms of the GPLv2, which states that anyone can view, modify, and use the program for free on the condition that they distribute the source code to customers..." Sustain On Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:46:37 -0500, "Andre Courchesne" <[email protected]> said: > Ok, well, my first step was to ask the supplier where I bought the DVR > device. Just got an email back from them: > > "We've asked our supplier but have not been able to get any additional > information on GPL code or any API information on this DVR. I've asked a > couple of times but they told us it's not available. Sorry." -- http://www.fastmail.fm - Same, same, but different... _______________________________________________ mlug mailing list [email protected] https://listes.koumbit.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-listserv.mlug.ca
