On 8 Aug 2013, at 18:03, "Cole Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote:
Cole
> We've contacted Linksys tech support and they claim that they /"used to"/
> provide the source code upon request. However, the support person claimed
> that because the router has been EOL ("End of Life") for 3 years, they are
> unable to provide us with the source code.
Section 3b of GNU GPL 2.0 offers the "written offer" mechanism for distributing
binaries:
> Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three years, to give
> any third party...
If "EOL" means "distributed that router no more recently than three years ago",
Linksys' response would seem compliant, since the obligation to provide source
code if the written offer method is chosen is not unlimited in term.
> My friend picked up a Linksys BEFSR81 router
> (<http://msupport.linksys.com/en-us/support/routers/BEFSR81>) at D[EFF]con
Might the person who supplied the router to your friend have a copy of the
source code, which you could request from them? I would be surprised if they
were bound by the GPL — it would depend on the circumstances — but, if they
were hackers too, they might have the source code (or what they claim is the
source code: warning!).
Neil
__________
Neil Brown
[email protected] | http://neilzone.co.uk
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