Bonum Certa Men Certa

Companies That Signed Anti-Linux Patent and FUD Deals with Microsoft Also Violate the GPL

Hypocrisy from companies that harm Linux (including Microsoft):
they use GPL-licensed code and do not obey the licence


Richard Stallman



Summary: SFLC/BusyBox happen to punish some companies worthy of punishment not just for GPL violations

THE SFLC has sued 11 more companies on behalf of BusyBox, but three companies that receive the most attention -- among these 11 in total -- are those who deserve punishment (or at least being reprimanded) for their 'crimes' against GNU and/or Linux. The articles we have found so far are:

1. Best Buy, JVC, Samsung, More Hit With Lawsuit

2. Best Buy, Samsung, others named in GPL suit

3. Best Buy, Samsung, And Westinghouse Named In SFLC Suit Today

4. SFC and SFLC sues Samsung, Zyxel, Western Digital and others over GPL violations

5. Multiple Consumer Electronics Companies Hit With GPL Lawsuit

6. 16 Companies sued by the Software Freedom Law Center

7. SFLC Launches GPL Lawsuit Against 14 Gadget Makers

8. SFLC hammers GPL violators

The SFLC (Software Freedom Law Center) is lowering the boom on more than a dozen companies including Best Buy, Samsung, Westinghouse and JVC, all which have violated the GPL (GNU General Public License).


Here is the original announcement at the SFLC Web site and a complete list of the companies sued.

The entire list of companies named in the lawsuit is as follows:

* Astak * Best Buy * Comtrend * Dobbs-Stanford * GCI Technologies * Humax USA * JVC * Phoebe Micro * Robert Bosch * Samsung * Versa Technology * Western Digital * Westinghouse * Zyxel Communications


As a reminder, JVC signed a patent deal with Microsoft [1, 2, 3] and it seemed likely to be similar to that of Samsung [1, 2, 3], which explicitly said that it would pay Microsoft for Linux or Linux-related software. Samsung is still signing all sorts of other special deals with Microsoft. They endorse Microsoft's patent racket.

“Samsung is still signing all sorts of other special deals with Microsoft. They endorse Microsoft's patent racket.”Best Buy's shameless attacks on GNU/Linux are recent enough to be remembered as well [1, 2, 3]. Oiaohm has asked: "Who was the one that was spitting anti-Linux doc for Microsoft? Best Buy? Interesting that they were using it in one of their own products."

Some people are rattled by insistence that the GPL needs to be obeyed. But even companies whose products are based on Linux can be sued (Palm being a recent example) and "compliance is the goal," as the SFLC stresses. It's not about "attacking" companies, it is about reminding people that the GPL needs to be honoured, not ignored.

Even Microsoft has been violating the GPL [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10] and this is seen as a sign that Free software is winning. It has become too commonplace to be ignored.

From the White House to (no kidding) Microsoft, open source shined in '09



[...]

Perhaps the most shocking event was Microsoft's submission of code for inclusion in the Linux kernel under a GPL license that Microsoft once tagged as a threat to capitalism itself. But it was not so much an olive branch as it was a brain freeze: Microsoft had inadvertently included some open source code in the virtualization drivers it eventually submitted for the Linux kernel and was more or less left with little choice.

Microsoft ended up in that same spot later in the year when a tool it released to create bootable USB drives for Windows 7 also was found to contain open source code. That tool also was pushed into the open source community.


Microsoft is even trying to encircle Python now (with IronPython), despite its ties to Google [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. When Microsoft is trying to 'outgoogle' Google with tools that are developed inside Google (after a major hire), then it's clear that Free software is winning. Microsoft is just trying to distort what Free software actually means, by expelling the "Freedom" (with software patents, Mono, and poisonous culture inside key Free software projects).

GNU is being daemonised at the moment. As Jason from Mono-Nono put the situation about a month ago, this is a sign that it had become too powerful a force for its competitors to tolerate. The proprietary world grows nervous.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

--Sometimes attributed to Mahatma Gandhi

Recent Techrights' Posts

Richard Stallman and the Unix Philosophy
When asked about systemd people must remember that RMS speaks as an active Board member of the FSF and also the founder of the FSF
Get Rid of Back Doors, Don't Obsess Over Bounties and Other Corporate PR Stunts (or Needless Reboot Rituals)
Security as a term has mostly lost its meaning due to repeated misuse for many years
Serial Sloppers Are Killing the Web (They Probably Don't Care, Either)
Slop is a disease on the Web
IBM's Debt Ballooned by 8.5 Billion Dollars in Just 3 Months!
Hallmark of a company in a state of disarray, trying to spend its way out of trouble
Big Trouble in GNOME
even GNOME people admit the CoC went wrong
 
Microsoft is Shedding Off Loads of Staff and That Can be Dangerous Too
Working for Microsoft is a choice; nobody forces you to do it
The Cost (to Linux) of LLM Slop
Slop 'artists' like Fagioli are far from harmless
Links 25/04/2025: Ubisoft Spyware, Hegseth Fails at Tech on Every Level
Links for the day
Gemini Links 25/04/2025: Food Forest Update and Facebook Destroying the Net
Links for the day
Streaming Apps Are “Investor Fraud” That Kills the Planet
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Things Get Increasingly Nasty at Microsoft Ahead of the Fake Results and May's Mass Layoffs Wave
They try to get people to 'resign' so that they won't count as layoffs and the company's 'wellbeing' will seem better
Slopping the Trough: Disney Plus Loses Billions and the Decline of Physical Media in America
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 24, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 24, 2025
Links 24/04/2025: GAFAM Problems and No Peace (or Ceasefire) in Sight
Links for the day
Slopfarms on the Web Almost Always Generate Anti-Linux FUD When They Produce "Linux" Output
Welcome to the dying Web
Richard Stallman's Oxford Talk Has Just Ended, Here Are Some Photos
he might hop over to another European country
Gemini Links 24/04/2025: Birthday and Good Work of Academia in Esotericism
Links for the day
Links 24/04/2025: EU fines Apple and Facebook, Another Microsoft GitHub Security Blunder
Links for the day
New Article Explains How the GPL Came About and WordPress Having Copyleft Obligations
Having been involved in the WordPress development community since almost the beginning, I know why it chose the GPL and how it restricts abuse by Automattic
IBM Gained Almost 6 Billion Dollars in "Goodwill" Value in Just 3 Months, According to IBM
Congrats to the management!
In Belarus, Yandex is Now Measured as 50 Times More 'Popular' (by Usage) Than Microsoft
Yandex continues to gain, whereas Bing cannot even register at 1%. Last month it was registered or measured at a measly 0.65%.
IBM Cannot Lie to Shareholders Anymore
"I would not be surprised if we see a layoff every quarter this year."
Dr Richard Stallman (RMS) Gives Talk in Oxford University in 4 Hours
If you live nearby, go there (it's free as in gratis)
Using a Law Firm's Licence to Exercise Politics Through Frivolous SLAPPs and Nastygrams (to Silence People, Remove Pages, Demand Fake or Forced 'Apologies')
Things must be getting really bad when lawyers act for raving antisemites
We're Working to Make Full-Site Search Available
This site has over 1,000 'wiki' pages, many thousands of documents, several thousands of videos, and about 50,000 blog posts or articles. We need to make them easier to find/navigate.
Links 24/04/2025: IBM Loses Many Contracts, Intel to Lay Off Over 20% (Not Counting Those Who Leave 'Voluntarily')
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Can Explain to Oxford Artificial Intelligence Society Why LLM Slop is Not Artificial Intelligence and Why It Hurts Society
another 'crop' of LLM slop that damages GNU/Linux and facts
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 23, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Promoting Microsoft and Proprietary Software Using Microsoft Operatives
Because nothing says "Open Source" like GPL violations facilitated by Microsoft
Another Site Bites the Dust: "Open Source For You" Becoming a Slopfarm (LLM Slop)
What a shame. Another dead site.
Links 23/04/2025: Crackdowns on Dissent, Palin Loses Libel Retrial Against New York Times
Links for the day
Links 23/04/2025: Hard Times and Digital Amnesia
Links for the day
The GNU/Linux Site Formerly Known as "linoxide.com" is Back... as an LLM Slopfarm!
Better for linoxide.com to go offline than to do this
Richard Stallman to Speak in Oxford University Exactly a Day From Now
outsourced to GAFAM
Links 23/04/2025: "Hiding Corruption" and "The Cost of Defunding Harvard"
Links for the day
Microsoft 'Studies' Again? Leon Musolff is Writing Papers With Microsoft.
Even if one can see/find a link to "the study" (in the Bezos-controlled publication), most people won't look any further and just take everything at face value.
Towards GNU World Domination
The FSF led by Geoffrey S. Knauth with his friend Richard Stallman in the FSF's Board [...] Let's encourage people to adopt GNU/Linux. There has never been a better time.
statCounter Helps Visualise Just How Deep in Trouble Microsoft is (Especially in Africa)
Microsoft sabotaged efforts to connect Africans and equip them with GNU/Linux laptops
The Register is Using Linux-Hostile Clickbait in Articles of Linux Proponents
Don't be a "whore" to advertisers, team El Reg
Microsoft Windows in Cyprus Lacking a Future
Most people access the Web there from mobile
Matrix Has a Severe Problem With Illegal Images
If Matrix cannot get the CP problem under control, many projects and people will dump Matrix
Never Try to Justify Strangulation of Women (Not in the US and Not in the UK)
Joint post by Mrs. Rianne Schestowitz and Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Links 23/04/2025: Tesla Profits Plunge 71%, Intel Ready to Lay Off 20% of Staff, Microsoft and IBM Layoffs
Links for the day
Microsoft's Most Profound Issue is That People Moved to 'Mobile' and "App Stores" (Microsoft's Presence There is Negligible)
Expect a wild ride for Microsoft this year
Google News is Amplifying FUD and Lies About Linux (and OpenSSH/SSH) by Promoting Slopfarms With Machine-Generated FUD and Slop Images
Google should know better
Gemini Links 23/04/2025: Librarians, Anubis, and Refactoring a Gemini Capsule
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 22, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 22, 2025