\vspace{1in}

Copy editors of this part include: \\

Martin Michlmayr

\vspace{3in}

The copyright holders of this part hereby grant the freedom to copy, modify,

convey, Adapt, and/or redistribute this work under the terms of the Creative

Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 International License.  A copy of that

license is available at

\end{center}

}

\bigskip

\chapter*{Executive Summary}

This is a guide to effective compliance with the GNU General Public

License (GPL) and related licenses.  Copyleft advocates

usually seek to assist the community with

GPL compliance cooperatively.   This guide focuses on complying from the

start, so that readers can learn to avoid enforcement actions entirely, or, at

was generally a private process; the FSF contacted violators

confidentially and helped them to comply with the license.  Most

violations were pursued this way until the early 2000's.

By that time, Linux-based systems such as GNU/Linux and BusyBox/Linux had become very common, particularly in

embedded devices such as wireless routers.  During this period, public

ridicule of violators in the press and on Internet fora supplemented

ongoing private enforcement and increased pressure on businesses to

comply.  In 2003, the FSF formalized its efforts into the GPL Compliance

Lab, increased the volume of enforcement, and built community coalitions

to encourage copyright holders to together settle amicably with violators.

Beginning in 2004, Harald Welte took a more organized public enforcement

list for collecting reports of GPL violations.  On the basis of these

reports, Welte successfully pursued many enforcements in Europe, including

formal legal action.  Harald earns the permanent fame as the first copyright

holder to bring legal action in a court regarding GPL compliance.

In 2007, two copyright holders in BusyBox, in conjunction with the

Software Freedom Conservancy (``Conservancy''), filed the first copyright infringement lawsuit

based on a violation of the GPL\@ in the USA. While  lawsuits are of course

quite public, the vast majority of Conservancy's enforcement actions 

are resolved privately via

cooperative communications with violators.  As both FSF and Conservancy have worked to bring

individual companies into compliance, both organizations have encountered numerous

document on page $X$\@.  You may obtain the complete Corresponding Source

code from us for a period of three years after our last shipment of this

product, which will be no earlier than 2011-08-01, by sending a money

order or check for \$5 to: \\

GPL Compliance Division \\

Our Company \\

Any Town, US 99999 \\

\\

Please write ``source for product $Y$'' in the memo line of your

payment.

You may also find a copy of the source at

This offer is valid to anyone in receipt of this information.

\end{quote}

There are a few important details about this offer.  First, it requires a

copying fee.  GPLv2 permits ``a charge no more than your cost of

physically performing source distribution''.  This fee must be reasonable.

If your cost of copying and mailing a CD is more than around \$10, you

should perhaps find a cheaper CD stock and shipment method.  It is simply

not in your interest to try to overcharge the community.  Abuse of this

provision in order to make a for-profit enterprise of source code

provision will likely trigger enforcement action.

If you determine that all GPL'd works in your whole product allow upgrade

to GPLv3 (or were already GPLv3'd to start), your offer for source may be

as simple as this:

\begin{quote}

The software included in this product contains copyrighted software that

is licensed under the GPLv3\@.  A copy of that license is included in this

document on page $X$\@.  You may obtain the complete Corresponding Source

code from us for a period of three years after our last shipment of this

product and/or spare parts therefor, which will be no earlier than

2011-08-01, on our website at

\end{quote}

\medskip

Under both GPLv2 and GPLv3, source offers must be accompanied by a copy of

the license itself, either electronically or in print, with every

distribution.

Finally, it is unacceptable to use option (b) merely because you do not have

Corresponding Source ready.  We find that some companies choose this option

because writing an offer is easy, but producing a source distribution as

an afterthought to a hasty development process is difficult.  The offer

Bradley M. Kuhn \\

John Sullivan

\vspace{3in}

Copy editors of this part include: \\

Martin Michlmayr

\vspace{3in}

The copyright holders hereby grant the freedom to copy, modify, convey,

Adapt, and/or redistribute this work under the terms of the Creative Commons

Attribution Share Alike 4.0 International License.  A copy of that license is

\end{center}

}

% =====================================================================

% START OF SECOND DAY SEMINAR SECTION

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\chapter*{Preface}

This one-day course presents the details of five different GPL

compliance cases handled by FSF's GPL Compliance Laboratory. Each case

offers unique insights into problems that can arise when the terms of

the GPL are not properly followed, and how diplomatic negotiation between