Demystifying Open Source
In 2008, the open source community saw the year end with a headline-catching lawsuit, the Free Software Foundation files suit against Cisco for General Public License (GPL) violations. Not to be outdone, 2009 also ended with a bang. Best Buy, Samsung, JVC and 11 other consumer electronics companies were named in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed on December 14, 2009, by the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) on behalf of the Software Freedom Conservancy. The scope of this lawsuit is unprecedented as it includes 14 defendants.
The Software Freedom Conservancy was not the only one to file a lawsuit for GPL violations as 2009 drew to a close. On December 2, 2009, Artifex Software Inc. filed a lawsuit against Palm, Inc., based on Palm's alleged unauthorized copying and distribution of Artifex's muPDF, a PDF interpreter that can be integrated with PDAs. The muPDF is licensed under the GPL or under Artifex's standard commercial license for companies that are unwilling or unable to comply with the terms of the GPL. Artifex alleges that Palm has neither obtained a commercial license nor complied with the terms of the GPL.
These enforcement actions drive home the importance of taking inventory of what open source software is included in each product, what licensing obligations apply to each component, and compliance with these obligations.
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