https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/20/vizio-vs-the-world/#dumbcast
"Vizio's free ride is over. The nonprofit Software Freedom Conservancy has
filed suit against Vizio to force it to comply with the GPL – and this legal
challenge has the potential to change the game for GPL enforcement in a
profound way.
https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/vizio.html
You see, the Conservancy isn't suing on behalf of the copyright holders whose
code Vizio is illegally using – it's suing on behalf of the users of free
software who are injured by Vizio's attack on the commons.
The Conservancy's argument is that free software users also have standing to
enforce the GPL, because a failure to comply with the GPL harms them. They call
this "Community-Oriented GPL Enforcement."
https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/principles.html
And because the Conservancy's goal is to create a bigger commons, they have
pre-committed to refusing cash settlements – they will settle for full GPL
compliance, and nothing less.
If they manage to establish that free software users have standing to enforce
the GPL, it will upend the broken system that has let companies like Vizio
flout the law for years while making vast profits off the commons-based labor
of software authors."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
