see <a href="https://sfconservancy.org/news/2019/apr/02/vmware-no-appeal/">this
announcement regarding conclusion of the VMware suit in Germany</a>. Since the suit has
concluded, any funds you donate here will support our ongoing compliance efforts. The
remaining material below is left as it was before that announcement:</p>
<p><em>In March 2015, Conservancy <a href="/news/2015/mar/05/vmware-lawsuit/">announced Christoph Hellwig's
lawsuit against VMware in Germany</a>. In July 2016,
we <a href="/news/2016/aug/09/vmware-appeal/">announced that Christoph
would appeal the lower court's ruling</a>.</p>
Support Conservancy's and Christoph's efforts in this area
by <a href="/supporter/">becoming a Conservancy
supporter</a> or <a href="#donate-box" class="donate-now">donating via
by <a href="/sustainer/">becoming a Conservancy
sustainer</a> or <a href="#donate-box" class="donate-now">donating via
the link on the right</a>.</em></p>
<p>We were told to ask nicely and repeatedly, so we did.</p>
<p>We asked allies to help us make contact in friendly and professional
ways.</p>
<p>Everyone asked us to give companies as many chances as possible and as
much help as possible to comply with copyleft, so we did.</p>
<p>We've worked for years to help VMware comply with the GPL, but they
...
@@ -76,41 +76,41 @@ community. Even so, this case will help bring clarity on the question of
combined and derivative works, and is essential to the future of all software
freedom. This case deserves support from copyleft and non-copyleft free
software communities alike.</p>
<h3>Show you care</h3>
<p>Bad actors have become complacent because they think you don't care. A
strong show of public support for Conservancy and Christoph's position will
help our legal case and demonstrate the interpretive context for it.
Please <a href="#donate-box" class="donate-now">donate</a> to our campaign to enforce the GPL. Help Conservancy
increase its number of individual donors, so we have clear evidence to show
bad actors that the GPL matters to the individuals in our community.
After you <a href="#donate-box" class="donate-now">donate</a>, go and tell the world: “Play by the rules, @VMware. I defend the #GPL with Christoph & @Conservancy. #DTRTvmware Help at https://sfconservancy.org/supporter/ ” on your blog or microblog.
After you <a href="#donate-box" class="donate-now">donate</a>, go and tell the world: “Play by the rules, @VMware. I defend the #GPL with Christoph & @Conservancy. #DTRTvmware Help at https://sfconservancy.org/sustainer/ ” on your blog or microblog.
</p>
<h3>Isn't the combined works and/or derivative works question a legal grey area?</h3>
<p>We don't think so, but this case will let the court to decide that question.
Either way, it's beneficial to our entire community to find out what the
judges think. (Check out our <a href="/copyleft-compliance/vmware-lawsuit-faq.html">FAQ to find out more
information</a>.)</p>
<p>Help us pay for this expensive lawsuit and to generally defend software
freedom and the GPL. Help us show the world that copyleft matters. We are excited
to announce that we already reached an anonymous match for this campaign, where every dollar donated
was matched up to $50,000. However, that $100,000 is just an initial step
and there is so much GPL enforcement work to do. So, please
donate now: by becoming <a href="/supporter/">a Conservancy Supporter</a> or
donate now: by becoming <a href="/sustainer/">a Conservancy Sustainer</a> or
via <a href="#donate-box" class="donate-now">donate link on the right</a>.</p>
<h3>Want To Know More?</h3>
<p>Watch the video below of Conservancy Executive Director, Karen Sandler,
<a href="/news/2015/mar/31/libreplanet/">delivering a keynote on this topic