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Linden Lab invites reports of viewer license violations
In the last several months, we've had numerous tips from readers that one or another of the available third-party Second Life viewers that are in distribution are in breach of the license agreements under which Linden Lab makes the source-code available. As the sole copyright holder (contributor's copyrights are assigned to Linden Lab via a contribution agreement), Linden Lab is the only party that can do more than apply limited verbal or social pressure for compliance [as it turns out, contributors remain full copyright holders - thanks for clearing that up, Gigs]. We've gotten quite a few readers asking how to report license violations, and if Linden Lab would seriously investigate those reports. "We take copyright matters seriously," a Linden Lab spokesperson told us yesterday, "and people are welcome to report what they believe to be violations of the GPL terms under which we've made the viewer source code available."
Roku serves up Netflix Player source code
Hope you're not too sleepy, you hacker you, 'cause we've got a juicy one coming your way. No sooner did we find that the Netflix Player would be streaming content from other players in the industry later this year than Roku opens up the source code vault. You heard right -- the GPL code has now been posted for the world to see, meaning that there's just one link standing between you and umpteen delicious tarballs. Mmm, tarballs.[Via Hack-A-Day]
RealXtend 0.3 released
The RealXtend team has released the latest version of their extended, viewer and opensim-based system code. This brings realXtend up to version 0.3. The viewer sports new basic avatars (three), attachments direct to the avatar (rather than to a bone-based attachment point), prim sizes increased to 128 metres in any dimension, fixed assorted crash bugs and more. The server code handles the support for these features, along with a bunch of bug-fixes, Skype support, inverse kinematics and variable avatar walk-speeds.
RealXtend viewer now on Sourceforge
Sourceforge - billed as the largest open source website in the world -- is now host to the source code project for the RealXTend viewer (rexviewer) for Second Life. RealXtend claims to have replaced all of the license encumbered portions of the viewer with GPL-friendly alternatives, though they are still having some issues decoupling FMOD from their VoIP solution. The project website remains at rexviewer.org, while the project page and source code (available via subversion) is now on Sourceforge. Rexviewer is only in alpha at present, but has a number of distinctly interesting technological features, and more planned.
Wonderland creator promoting new grid
Lalinda Lovell, the person behind the Wonderland site that was the focus of the Sky News virtual child sex scandal is apparently promoting a new grid, called litesim. The server software apparently is under development and due to be released under GPL Free Software licenses at some future date, so it isn't exactly clear if the code is based on Open Simulator or some other backend. The system sports three tiers of users: Free, Basic and Premium, the latter two both having a monthly fee and cashout options. Lovell's advertising for this grid emphasizes "Freedom and privacy guaranteed" however the litesim terms of service specifically state that a number of things (like child pornography, and anything that violates either US or UK laws - that would include simulations of underage sexuality) are not permitted.
Verizon sued over GPL code in FiOS routers
Uh-oh, it looks like Verizon's been too busy ramping up speeds on its FiOS network to mind a little thing called the GPL -- the company has just been sued for using a GPL'd app called BusyBox in its FiOS routers but not providing the source code. BusyBox is a bundle of utilities used in embedded Linux applications, and the authors have been pretty vigilant in policing GPL-compliance in distributions that include it -- they've sued two other companies that have shipped devices with BusyBox, and gotten settlements both times. We're not sure what Verizon is doing with BusyBox on its routers or why it hasn't released the source, but expect this one to reach a resolution rather quickly.Disclaimer: Although this post was written by an attorney, it is not meant as legal advice or analysis and should not be taken as such.
Asus clarifies Eee PC GPL issues, says omission was a mistake
We never really assumed foul play by Asus when it was discovered that the Eee's Linux source package was missing the ACPI module, especially after Asus released it with little fanfare soon after it was first noticed -- and now the company has released a statement formally calling the omission a mistake. Asus also said it's working to publish all the Eee's source in the appropriate forums, and that it intends to respect "the spirit of the GPL." Which is great and all, but considering how much time Asus had to sort this out, you'd think they'd have their ducks in a row.[Via TG Daily]
Does the Asus EeePC violate the Linux GPL?
A group of Linux users have spoken out against Asus and their apparent non-compliance with certain aspects of the General Public License attached to Xandros Linux distro that comes with the Eee PC. This flustered controversy centers around Asus modifying a module of the Linux kernel without distributing the source code, something that breaks the rules of the license. Your average Eee PC owner isn't going to give a damn about such a trivial point, so end users can safely ignore this debate. As for whether Asus will step up and do what it should have done from day one, that'll depend on how loud the developers involved make their case. Type harder guys![Via Slashdot]
Electric Sheep looking to contribute portions of OnRez viewer
According to Chris Carella and Giff Constable, both of the Electric Sheep Company, have indicated today that the Electric Sheep Company is looking to contribute bug-fixes and some modifications back to the open source Second Life viewer. While the Second Life viewer source code is mostly under the GNU Public License (version 2), however the viewer is actually dual-licensed, with proceeds from the commercial license being used to help fund further development.
Hava-maker Monsoon slapped with first GPL lawsuit
It looks like the open source community is about to head into some uncharted waters, with the first GPL-related lawsuit in the US now headed to court. At the center of this particular brouhaha is Hava-maker Monsoon Multimedia, who is being sued by the Software Freedom Law Center for alleged violations of the GNU General Public License (GPL). In particular, the SFLC says that Monsoon licensed the BusyBox software for embedded applications from its clients, yet failed to provide the underlying source code to its products in return, which is required under the GPLv2. Adding a bit more interest to the case, as Linux-Watch points out, is the fact that Monsoon is headed by a "highly experienced" lawyer named Graham Radstone, who apparently previously held the top legal spot at an unnamed "$1 billion private multinational company." For its part, the SFLC is seeking an injunction against Monsoon, and is asking for damages and litigation costs to be awarded to the plaintiffs. [Via Slashdot]
Trolltech gets cozy with OpenMoko, ports platform to Neo1973
Trolltech and OpenMoko are pretty much the two patron saints of open source phoning at the moment -- and seeing how it's a nascent market (to say the least), hooking up is probably the right move to make. Trolltech, maker of that crazy green (and aptly named) Greenphone, has ported its Qtopia Phone Edition software stack to OpenMoko's hardware, giving hackers tooling around with their Neo1973s another platform with which to play. Concurrently with the announcement, Trolltech has revealed that its entire Qtopia reference platform is now available under version 2 of the GPL; previously, parts of the package were only available under a commercial license, so this is a pretty big win for the open source community. Whether this all translates to a better experience once the Neo1973 moves from developer platform to retail device remains unclear, but it certainly can't hurt -- and it might mark the passing of the open source torch from the Greenphone to OpenMoko's efforts.[Via MobileBurn]
Id and Valve could have been violating GPL
After id Software released their catalog on Steam, some gamers on the Halflife2.net forums noticed a missing General Public License for DOSBox, an emulator used for playing older titles. Not including a GPL, which is a text file legally required to be included with the game to give due credit, violates the license and can lead to lawsuits.It appears, however, that subsequent downloads have fixed the problems, as either Valve or id has added the proper licenses. (Note the picture above, from the same forum thread, showing the licenses present in a recently-downloaded copy of HeXen.) This doesn't in either way affect the gameplay of the titles, but it is important to give credit for those who make your fragging possible in the first place. [Update: Clarified the wording as to the physical description of the GPL itself.][Via /.]
Apple buys CUPS
Big UNIX news this morning. Apple has bought out CUPS, the common UNIX printing system. The name may not sound familiar, but it's part of every Mac OS X installation. CUPS implements a cross-platform printing system based on the Internet Printing Protocol and is, according to its web page, the defacto standard printing system for Linux. Until now, CUPS has been distributed by Easy Software Products under the GNU general public license. Although the purchase was announced today, it seems the actual deal went down this past February. In addition to acquiring the CUPS source code ownership, Apple has also hired Michael R. Sweet, its creator. CUPS will retain its GNU GPL2/LGPL2 licensing terms and Sweet intends to continue maintaining and supporting the product. FAQs about the change of ownership can be found here. As our own Mike Rose points out, the license exceptions seem to allow third party plug-in developers to keep their source code private. Developers (including Apple) can distribute derivative work and be exempt from the mandatory source code release clauses of the GNU GPL so long as the exception is limited to Mac OS X and not for use on other operating systems. Just remember: we are not lawyers, and the exception language is convoluted. Thanks, Daniel.Update: Nilay Patel from Engadget adds: Apple isn't affected by the license terms of CUPS, since they own it. A license only affects licensees, not owners. Apple could fork CUPS and close the source tomorrow and no one could do anything about it, although I'm certain the terms of the sale included a promise that Apple would keep it GPL'd for a certain period of time. The exception appears to be geared to printer manufacturers so they can write drivers and not have to open their code -- which is interesting, since the GPL already provides a mechanism for this sort of distribution, called the "mere aggregation" clause.. Disclaimer: Although Nilay is a lawyer, this information is not legal advice or analysis and should not be construed as such. Thanks Nilay.
Microsoft says it's not bound by GPL v3
It's been a week since version 3 of the GPL was released, and the ripple effect is starting to make some pretty big waves: Microsoft -- which has been essentially selling Novell's SUSE Linux since last year -- released a terse statement today claiming that neither it nor its customers are parties to any terms of the revised license. Furthermore, "to avoid any doubt or legal debate on this issue," Microsoft will decline to support any GPL v3 code that might be distributed with SUSE. Microsoft does have a point: since Linux remains under GPL v2 (and probably will for the foreseeable future), there's very little binding them to the terms of GPL v3 -- specifically, the patent protection terms that would essentially undo the major element of the whole MS / Novell agreement. How the inclusion of GPL v3 code with SUSE affects the overall license is another matter entirely -- one that will result in a lot of legal chest-pounding until the GPL finally gets tested in an American court.Disclaimer: While the author of this post is a copyright attorney, its contents are not meant to constitute legal advice or analysis.[Via CNET]
Free Software Foundation releases version 3 of the GPL
Although June 29, 2007 will probably be most remembered for the release of some cellphone, another release that will hugely affect the tech community went out on that fateful Friday -- version three of the GNU General Public License was officially released, revising the terms that govern the use and distribution of many open-source projects, including Linux. A major goal of the revisions was to prevent the use of free code in closed devices (known charmingly as "tivoization"), drawing criticism from Linus Torvalds, Tivo (naturally), and others, but the Free Software Foundation maintains that the changes will be beneficial to end users. We're all for device makers opening up their boxes, but we're not sure forcing them to do so via license restrictions is the way to do it -- we'll see how this plays out in the future.
Cisco fesses up to iPhone WIP300 GPL failings, is "taking steps"
Apple isn't the only one having trouble messing with intellectual property as it relates to its iPhone product. Cisco was apparently reprimanded in October by a certain Armijn Hemel over unreleased code which, under the GPL-license that the phone submits to due to its Linux underpinnings, is required to be made available publicly. After the chat in October, Cisco fixed a few of its other products that Mr. Hemel pointed out were in violation, but still hasn't come clean with certain bits of WIP300 iPhone code. "For someone talking about Apple using Cisco's property," said Hemel, "actually they're infringing on copyright themselves. So it's just a double standard." In a response on Saturday, Cisco's prolific blogger John Earnhard states: "Based on our investigation, Cisco is taking steps to resolve a single issue raised regarding this product's compliance with the GNU General Public License, or GPL." No word on when this will all be patched up, or whether Cisco's fixes will be sufficient, but for the moment it sounds like the GPL kids are going to get their way. Will the curse of the iPhone live on? Tune in next week for Pirates of the iPhone: Apple and Cisco At World's End.[Via The Inquirer]Read - Cisco's iPhone violates GPL, expert saysRead - Cisco responds
