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11 June 2008, 13:48

Software Freedom Law Center again to file suit for violations of GPL

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Once again, the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) has filed suit on behalf of two BusyBox developers.. The SFLC charges that Bell Microproducts and Super Micro Computer implement the GPLv2 shell tool as firmware in their devices, without disclosing the source code as required by the license. The SFLC says that the two companies did not respond to initial queries.

By filing suit, the SFLC hopes to have a restraining order imposed. Its lawyers are also calling for damages to be paid to the developers and they want legal fees covered. These two cases are merely the latest in a long line of suits filed against companies that use the shell software in their hardware without upholding the provisions of the GPL. In all previous cases – most recently in March with Verizon – a settlement was reached out of court. The companies in question continue to use the Busybox source code, but they now make it available to their customers.

(trk)

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