diff options
Diffstat (limited to '2006/lwe_nl-gpl_violations/structure.txt')
-rw-r--r-- | 2006/lwe_nl-gpl_violations/structure.txt | 39 |
1 files changed, 39 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/2006/lwe_nl-gpl_violations/structure.txt b/2006/lwe_nl-gpl_violations/structure.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e3a596c --- /dev/null +++ b/2006/lwe_nl-gpl_violations/structure.txt @@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ +about the GPL +- usual stuff + +about gpl-violations.org +- 100+ cases so far +- most of them settled out of court +- four preliminary injunctions halting sales (Sitecom, Siemens, Fortinet, ...) +- one appeals case against preliminary injunction won (Sitecom) +- one regular civil court case (against D-Link, just one month ago) +- not a single case was lost at any time + + +what happens if you violate the GPL +- copyright infringement is a crime, criminal charges could be brought +- copyright infringement causes civil liabilities +- sale of your products can be immediately halted by preliminary injunction +- legal proceedings can be filed against you and your downstream sales chain +- you can be sued for damages +- you will have to reimburse all legal fees (your/their lawyers, court fees) +- you will have to alter all products that are already produced and in stock + (include a copy of the license text, source code or written offer thereof) +- is it really worth all those risks? +- if you are selling branded OEM/ODM devices or software and don't have the + technical resources for compliance checks in-house: for a couple of hundred + euros (could be more, depending on complexity) you can have somebody check + the product for GPL license compliance before it enters the market. + + +how to avoid GPL licensing problems +- think about licensing during product development +- if you sell any OEM device provided by an upstream vendor, check it! +- make sure you provide the source code always at the same time as object code +- make sure GPL compliance happens for physical prodcut and website +- release full corresponding source for each and every firmware update +- do consider emails/letters about license compliance _SERIOUS_ +- set up a contact address that people can write to in case there think there + are license compliance issues +- if you get caught + |