SWSoft, the company behind Parallels Desktop for Mac, is possibly violating the LGPL license by using LGPL libraries from the WINE project without providing access to the source code. The WINE project first discovered the violation early this June, and after several failed attempts at getting the source code to the libraries, they set up a wiki page to keep track of the ongoing violation. The WINE project wants to resolve the issue "without starting legal action". Thanks to MacWereld for pointing this out [Dutch].
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Member since:2005-08-26
Really? Held up in court?
Can you list citings? I would love to review those cases. My understanding is that it hasn't been tested in court -- at least not here in the US, which is what made the whole SCO fiasco such a problem.
The good news is, SCO fumbled their "case" so badly, that it still hasn't gotten to the issue of weather or not the GPL can hold up in court.
But if I'm wrong, I'd love to eat my words. So please, can you point to a case where the GPL was challenged, and held up?
Member since:2005-10-11
At least in Germany. Article seems to be german only:
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/49377
Edited 2007-07-02 15:31
Member since:2006-06-19
Why wouldnt the GPL hold up in court? It uses the power of copyright and that has been proven in court time and time again. I see no reason some court would throw out the GPL based on.....what....
Can you explain why you think the courts would...what....invalidate the GPL? Laugh it out of a courtroom? What basis do you have for thinking a license on software would not hold up? Can you show many license that haven't held up in court?
Harold Welte has been succesful in regards to many violations of his code - I dont think that is a fluke or anything.
Edited 2007-07-02 15:42
Member since:2005-07-02
Do you realize that if the GPL - or in this case the LGPL - didn't hold up in court, then Parrallels would *automatically* lose the right to redistribute the WINE libraries?
The GPL/LGPL is an *extension* of the rights normally provided by copyright law, not a *restriction*. So if (for some unlikely reason) it was struck down, the recipient of the software (Parrallels) would *lose* the extended rights that allow them to redistribute this copyrighted IP.
From Wikipedia:
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Member since:
2006-04-21
Only the courts will care, and for them, there is no copyleft.
Wrong. "Copyleft" is just a way of describing GNU licences that's designed to be intuitive, the same way as one might describe The High Court of Australia as "the Australian supreme court". Whether the word "copyleft" has no basis in law is irrelevant, as the GPL has been repeatedly held up in court when challenged there.