[Discussioni] fsf fa causa a cisco

[Marco Ciurcina]

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081211-free-software-foundation-lawsuit-against-cisco-a-first.html

Free Software Foundation lawsuit against Cisco a first

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has filed a lawsuit against Cisco for 
copyright infringement. The suit contends that Cisco widely distributed the 
FSF's software and failed to fulfill the requirements of the General Public 
License (GPL) under which the software is published. The lawsuit, which is 
the culmination of a lengthy conflict between the two organizations, is the 
first one that the FSF has ever filed for GPL infringement.

The GPL was originally devised by FSF founder Richard Stallman with the aim of 
providing a legal framework for software freedom. The license broadly grants 
users the right to study, modify, and redistribute software but it also has a 
reciprocal provision that requires developers to make their derivatives 
available under the same terms so that the rights are perpetually preserved 
downstream. Many popular open source software applications are distributed 
under this license or the related Lesser General Public License (LPGL), 
including several that are copyrighted by the FSF, such as the core GNU 
userspace stack and the GCC compiler—components that are essential on 
Linux-based platforms.

Linksys—which is owned by Cisco—has distributed a wide range of Linux-based 
products that use GPL-licensed components, but Linksys has repeatedly failed 
to fulfill the obligations of the GPL. The terms of the license require 
distributors to disclose that their products contain code licensed under the 
GPL. They must also offer to make that code available to end users at 
request.

Many companies that offer Linux-based products include a printed copy of the 
GPL with the packaging and provide a link to a web page where they make the 
source code available. You can find examples of this for many popular Linux 
gadgets such as the Amazon Kindle and the TiVo. The requirements are not 
particularly onerous and there are many experts who will happily provide 
companies with guidance on compliance issues at no cost, so there isn't 
really much of an excuse for failing to meet the requirements.

The FSF brought the licensing issue to the attention of Cisco in 2003, at 
which time the company acknowledged that it had erred and agreed to rectify 
the problem. Despite numerous requests by the FSF and extensive ongoing 
discussions between the two organizations, Cisco has allegedly continued to 
disregard its obligations under the GPL and has released a number of products 
that contain GPL-licensed code without making the source code available to 
end users.

After years of trying to resolve the dispute outside of court, the FSF 
believes that its efforts to settle the matter amicably have failed and that 
a lawsuit is the only remaining option. In the lawsuit, the FSF asks the 
court to grant injunctive relief and block the ongoing sale of products that 
use GPL-licensed code. The FSF also wants the court to order Cisco to cough 
up the profit it generated from its infringing behaviors and pay damages and 
litigation expenses.

"Given Defendant's extensive history of violating Plaintiff's Licenses, 
Plaintiff considers Defendant's current and proposed activities insufficient 
to ensure Defendant's future compliance. Defendant has refused to meet 
several of Plaintiff's reasonable requirements for reinstatement of 
Defendant's right to distribute the Programs," the lawsuit says. "Defendant 
continues to distribute the Infringing Products and Firmware in violation of 
Plaintiffs'€™ exclusive rights under the Copyright Act."

In a statement given to Ars, Cisco expressed its disappointment with the 
lawsuit and hope for a quick resolution. "Cisco is a strong supporter of open 
source software. Cisco takes its open source software obligations and 
responsibilities seriously and is disappointed that a suit has been filed by 
the Free Software Foundation related to our work with them in our Linksys 
Division," said the spokesperson. "We are currently reviewing the issues 
raised in the suit but believe we are substantially in compliance. We have 
always worked very closely with the FSF and hope to reach a resolution 
agreeable to the company and the foundation."

The suit was filed by the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), an organization 
that provides legal representation to the FSF and other free software 
projects. The SFLC has previously filed a series of infringement lawsuits on 
behalf of the BusyBox project, which makes a GPL-licensed software component 
that is widely used in Linux-based mobile and embedded devices. The vast 
majority of these lawsuits were the result of misunderstandings, and all of 
them led to swift settlements outside of court.

The GPL has some fundamental differences from conventional software licenses 
and companies don't always understand the legal requirements that are implied 
by adopting GPL-licensed software. The SFLC, which favors "cooperative and 
non-confrontational enforcement" published a guide earlier this year to help 
educate companies.

Although the SFLC has represented several other projects in GPL litigation, 
this is the first time that a GPL lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the FSF 
for one of its own projects. The FSF strongly prefers to avoid litigation 
whenever possible and would only act in this manner in the most extraordinary 
of circumstances. That by itself reflects the severity with which the FSF 
views Cisco's conduct. If Cisco allows this to go to court and fails to 
negotiate a settlement, the company risks losing its right to distribute the 
GPL-licensed software components entirely. It's very likely that Cisco will 
agree to comply with the FSF's requests now that the dispute has escalated 
into a lawsuit.

This is also an embarrassing PR black eye for Cisco. The company has recently 
been trying to woo Linux developers by offering big bounties for building 
software on top of the company's Linux-based Application Extension Platform. 
As Novell's Joe Brockmeier pointed out in a blog entry today, licensing 
compliance failures aren't a particularly good way to build bridges with the 
Linux community.

This is particularly disappointing for those of us in the Linux community who 
are enthusiastic fans of various Linux-based Cisco and Linksys products. I'm 
very fond of my Linksys WRT54GL, a nifty programmable router for hobbyists 
that we included in the Ars 2008 holiday gift guide. In light of Cisco's 
extensive contributions to the Linux kernel and long-standing commitment to 
open source platforms, it seems likely that this dispute won't last much 
longer.