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Best Buy lawsuit shows how GPL violations have changed

By Sean Michael Kerner on December 15, 2009 11:46 AM

From the 'Responsibilities of Freedom' files:

Yesterday, the Software Freedom Law Center filed a big lawsuit against 20 companies (including Best Buy) on the claim of GPL violation.

It's not the first (and likely not the last) of the SFLC's GPL enforcement efforts, but it does mark a key turning point in their public efforts for a number of reasons.

"It shows how GPL violations have changed over time," Bradley M. Kuhn, Policy Analyst and Technology Director at the SFLC wrote to me in an email. "Past enforcement efforts have been mostly about router technology and other computer-oriented components. We now see BusyBox/Linux adopted more frequently in mass-market consumer electronics, such as TVs and DVD players."

BusyBox which is the set of GPL'd utilities that is at the heart of the GPL enforcement issue is a technology that is used in embedded devices, like routers as well as consumer electronics devices.

Due to the fact that BusyBox (in particular) can sit so deep within a device, it is my own personal opinion that many vendors simply don't understand the impact of GPL and aren't aware that they aren't compliant.

In the Best Buy case, Kuhn told me that the SFLC had the same initial approach that they have in all GPL violations they handle, they sent a formal letter to Best Buy raising the issue.

"We received only an initial response that Best Buy would look into the matter and get back to us," Kuhn said. "After weeks went by, we had still received no substantive response, and our suggestion for a conference call to discuss the matter was ignored."

I remember in 2008 asking Verizon Communications President and COO Denny Strigl at a live event about the SFLC lawsuit that was facing Verizon at the time - he was clueless about the lawsuit. So I'm personally not surprised that Best Buy was unresponsive here - it sometimes just takes a big public lawsuit to get a response to an item that could potentially be perceived as being insignificant.

GPL non-compliance is not insignificant though - and to date the SFLC has a perfect record (publicly) at achieving compliance. I suspect that it's just a matter of time (weeks not months) until this new lawsuit is settled.

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