FSF Sues Cisco Over Alleged GPL Violations

[Will Shattuck]

Hi all. I thought you might find this interesting if you hadn't seen
it already. I haven't had a chance to read the entire PDF of the
filing yet. What I did read suggests that Cisco modified GPLd
software, distributed it, but didn't provide the source code with
their modifications and distributed binaries.

Here are some more links I found in my brief search for more info.

- ZDNet Article:
- http://blogs.zdnet.com/community/?p=139&tag=nl.e019

- Here is the FSF press release:
- http://www.fsf.org/news/2008-12-cisco-suit

- More background from the FSF"
- http://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/2008-12-cisco-complaint

- The actual filing:
- http://www.fsf.org/licensing/complaint-2008-12-11.pdf

Will

--
Will Shattuck
Shattuck After Hours Computer Service
http://www.willthecomputerguy.com
http://www.willshattuck.com

"When you get to your wit's end, you'll find God lives there."

[Thomas 'cmdln' Gideon]

On Fri, Dec 12, 2008 at 1:42 PM, Will Shattuck <willsh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi all. I thought you might find this interesting if you hadn't seen
> it already. I haven't had a chance to read the entire PDF of the
> filing yet. What I did read suggests that Cisco modified GPLd
> software, distributed it, but didn't provide the source code with
> their modifications and distributed binaries.

I seem to remember previous discussion between FSF/SFLC and Cisco over
their Linksys products but am fuzzy on the details. According to the
first link, this is a five year old issue on which they had been
trying to cooperate. As I understand it, the filing is usually a prod
that works to get the defendant to comply. Most such suits end up
going to settlement, which is also most likely, here.

Thanks for the links, I'll dig into them a bit more, later.

cmdln
--
The Command Line Podcast
http://thecommandline.net/
Open Media Review
http://openmediareview.com/

[Will Shattuck]

On Fri, Dec 12, 2008 at 12:01 PM, Thomas 'cmdln' Gideon
<cm...@thecommandline.net> wrote:
>
> On Fri, Dec 12, 2008 at 1:42 PM, Will Shattuck <willsh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hi all. I thought you might find this interesting if you hadn't seen
>> it already. I haven't had a chance to read the entire PDF of the
>> filing yet. What I did read suggests that Cisco modified GPLd
>> software, distributed it, but didn't provide the source code with
>> their modifications and distributed binaries.
>
> I seem to remember previous discussion between FSF/SFLC and Cisco over

> their Linksys products but am fuzzy on the details. <snip>

> Most such suits end up
> going to settlement, which is also most likely, here.
>
> Thanks for the links, I'll dig into them a bit more, later.
> cmdln
>

Sounds good. I finally signed up for your mailing list after
listening to your 'cast for 6+ months.

Also, I wanted to let you know, Thomas, that I really enjoy the Inner
Chapters and the Hacking 101 segments. I'm working on deciding which
language to focus on. I have a PHP project that I would like to work
on (fixing and rewriting CiteCRM), but I also want to learn Python
and/or Java.

Thanks for the podcast, Thomas. :)