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www/conservancy/static/copyleft-compliance/enforcement-strategy.html
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<h1 id="software-freedom-conservancy-proposal-for-gpl-enforcement-grant">History and Future Strategy</h1>
 

	
 
<p>The Software Freedom Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity
 
  registered in New York that continues it work in the are of important
 
  registered in New York.  Founded in 2006, Conservancy helps people take control
 
  of their computing by growing the software freedom movement, supporting
 
  community-driven alternatives to proprietary software, and defending free
 
  software with practical initiatives.  Conservancy accomplishes these goals
 
  with various initiatives including fiscal sponsorship, licensing and project
 
  governance policy, and public advocacy.  Some of Conservancy's most important
 
  licensing policy work involves defending and upholding the rights of
 
  software users and consumers under copyleft licenses, such as the GPL.</p>
 

	
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  the router, but Linksys and Cisco had failed to provide source code or any
 
  offer for source code to its customers.</p>
 

	
 
<p>A coalition formed including organizations and individuals — including
 
<p>A coalition formed made up of organizations and individuals — including
 
  Erik Andersen (major contributor to and former leader of the BusyBox
 
  project) and Harald Welte (major contributor to Linux’s netfilter
 
  subsystem) — to enforce the
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<p>There is one overarching irony to this growing dystopia: nearly all these
 
  devices are based primarily on software licensed under the GPL: most
 
  notably, Linux. While Linux-based systems do allow proprietary user-space
 
  applications not licensed under GPL, the kernel (and many other system
 
  applications not licensed under GPL, the kernel and many other system
 
  utilities routinely used in embedded systems, such as Conservancy’s BusyBox
 
  project) are under that license (or similar copyleft licenses such as the
 
  LGPL). These licenses require device markers to provide complete,
 
  project, are under that license (or similar copyleft licenses such as the
 
  LGPL). These licenses require device makers to provide complete,
 
  corresponding source code to everyone in possession of their
 
  devices. Furthermore, Linux’s specific license (GPL, version 2), mandates
 
  that source code must also include “the scripts used to control compilation
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  solutions. E-recyclers
 
  like <a href="https://www.freegeek.org/">Freegeek</a> do this regularly for
 
  desktop and laptop machines with GNU/Linux distributions like Debian, and
 
  with OpenWRT for wireless routers. We seek to assure they can do this for
 
  with OpenWRT for wireless routers. We seek to ensure they can do this for
 
  other types of electronic products. However, without the complete,
 
  corresponding source code and the scripts to control its compilation and
 
  corresponding source code, including the scripts to control its compilation and
 
  installation, the fundamental purpose of copyleft is frustrated. Consumers,
 
  hobbyists, non-profit e-recyclers and the general public are left without
 
  the necessary tools they need and deserve, and which the license promises
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<p>“Internet of Things” firmware should never rely on one vendor — even the
 
  vendor of the hardware itself. This centralized approach is brittle and
 
  inevitably leads to invasions of the public’s privacy and control of their
 
  inevitably leads to invasions of the public’s privacy and loss of control of their
 
  technology. Conservancy’s GPL enforcement work is part of the puzzle that
 
  ensures users can choose who their devices connect to, and how they
 
  connect. Everyone deserves control over their own computing — from their
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  Project for Linux Developers</h2>
 

	
 
<p>In May 2012, Software Freedom Conservancy
 
  formed <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/">The GPL
 
  formed <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/#linux">The GPL
 
    Compliance Project for Linux Developers</a> in response to frustration by
 
  upstream Linux developers about the prevalence of noncompliance in the
 
  field, and their desire to stand with Conservancy’s BusyBox, Git and Samba
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  in the unfunded work to make an MVP alternative firmware. While volunteer
 
  involvement remains essential to the success of alternative firmware
 
  projects, we know from our fiscal sponsorship work that certain aspects of
 
  FOSS projects require an experienced charity to initiate and jump start
 
  FOSS projects require an experienced charity to initiate and jump-start
 
  some of the less exciting aspects of FOSS project creation and
 
  development.</p>
 

	
 
<p>Conservancy plans to select a specific class of device. Upon achieving
 
  compliant source releases in that subindustry through GPL enforcement,
 
  Conservancy will <a href="firmware-liberation">launch an alternative
 
  firmware project</> for that class of device.</p>
 
  Conservancy will <a href="firmware-liberation.html">launch an alternative
 
  firmware project</a> for that class of device.</p>
 

	
 
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