@@ -80,25 +80,25 @@ 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
approach and launched \href{http://gpl-violations.org/}{gpl-violations.org}, a website and mailing
list for collecting reports of GPL violations. On the basis of these
reports, Welte successfully pursued many enforcements in Europe, including
reports, Welte successfully pursued many enforcement actions 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
violations resulting from preventable problems such as inadequate
attention to licensing of upstream software, misconceptions about the
@@ -1278,25 +1278,25 @@ should ask:
\item What are your GPL compliance procedures?
\item If there is GPL'd software in your distribution, we will be
redistributors of this GPL'd software. What mechanisms do you have in
place to aid us with compliance?
\item If we follow your recommended compliance procedures, will you
formally indemnify us in case we are nonetheless found to be in
violation of the GPL?
\end{itemize}
This last point is particularly important. Many GPL enforcements are
This last point is particularly important. Many GPL enforcement actions are
escalated because of petty finger-pointing between the distributor and its
upstream. In our experience, agreements regarding GPL compliance issues
and procedures are rarely negotiated up front. However, when they are,
violations are resolved much more smoothly (at least from the point of
view of the redistributor).
Consider the cost of potential violations in your acquisition process.
Using Free Software allows software vendors to reduce costs significantly, but be
wary of vendors who have done so without regard for the licenses. If your
vendor's costs seem ``too good to be true,'' you may ultimately bear the
burden of the vendor's inattention to GPL compliance. Ask the right
questions, demand an account of your vendors' compliance procedures, and