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[$] SFC v. VIZIO: who can enforce the GPL?
The
Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) is
suing
VIZIO over smart TVs that
include software licensed under the GPL and LGPL (including the Linux kernel,
FFmpeg, systemd, and others).
VIZIO didn't provide the source code along with the device, and on request they
only provided some of it. Unlike a typical lawsuit about enforcing the GPL, the
SFC isn't suing as a copyright holder; it's suing as
a normal owner of the TV
in question. This approach opens some important legal questions, and after years
of pre-trial maneuvering (most recently resulting in
a ruling related to signing keys that
is the subject of a separate article),
we might finally obtain some answers when the case goes
to trial on January 12. As things stand, it seems likely that the judge in
the case will rule that that the GPL-enforcement lawsuits can be a matter of
contract law, not just copyright law, which would be a major change to how GPL
enforcement works.
Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) is
suing
VIZIO over smart TVs that
include software licensed under the GPL and LGPL (including the Linux kernel,
FFmpeg, systemd, and others).
VIZIO didn't provide the source code along with the device, and on request they
only provided some of it. Unlike a typical lawsuit about enforcing the GPL, the
SFC isn't suing as a copyright holder; it's suing as
a normal owner of the TV
in question. This approach opens some important legal questions, and after years
of pre-trial maneuvering (most recently resulting in
a ruling related to signing keys that
is the subject of a separate article),
we might finally obtain some answers when the case goes
to trial on January 12. As things stand, it seems likely that the judge in
the case will rule that that the GPL-enforcement lawsuits can be a matter of
contract law, not just copyright law, which would be a major change to how GPL
enforcement works.
Anonymous