Re: Possible GPL Violation of Linux in Amstrad's E3 Videophone

[Valdis . Kletnieks]

On Fri, 01 Oct 2004 13:46:47 MDT, "Jeff V. Merkey" said:

> And the hate mail is the only thing that will arrive.   The GPL doesn't 
> really seem
> to protect anyone since the copyright holders really can't do much with 
> it. 

That's because usually, the guilty vendor realizes that their position is
untenable, although this may require escalating to having a lawyer send
a postal version of the hate mail.  Digging back through the lkml archives
will show that with the possible exception of SCO, vendors *will* end up
Doing The Right Thing once prompted (and given a chance to get The Right
Thing through the pipeline)....

 I've
> got a bunch of people using GPL code I've put out there in all sorts of 
> commercial
> products and Can't do anything to them for failing to return changes.

There's no requirement they return changes to *you* other than politeness.
They're required to make your GPL code plus their changes available to
*their customers*, which is a different set of people.

Now, if your source isn't made available to their customers, *then* you
have an actionable situation....

> They can always
> say they didn't accept the license then convert the code into their own IP .

Nope, they *specifically* can't do that.  Which is why SCO saying the GPL
is invalid but still distributing a Linux from their website is likely to
come back and haunt them grievously in their IBM lawsuit...

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