On 10/21/2013 09:57 PM, James Hilliard wrote:
They are attempting to use the fact that these routers are EOL and not
being sold anymore as some sort of GPL exception but they have
provided firmware for these routers directly from their website up
until a few days ago.
On a strictly technical reading of the license.
/*3.*//You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it,
under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of
Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following: /
//
/
/
/*a)*//Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable
source code, which must be distributed under the terms of Sections 1
and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or, /
/
/
/*b)*//Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three
years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your cost
of physically performing source distribution, a complete
machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be
distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium
customarily used for software interchange; or, /
/
/
/*c)*//Accompany it with the information you received as to the
offer to distribute corresponding source code. (This alternative is
allowed only for noncommercial distribution and only if you received
the program in object code or executable form with such an offer, in
accord with Subsection b above.) /
c) of course doesn't apply, as it's noncommercial.
If they did not accompany it with source, and I don't think anyones
arguing that - they could only be in compliance if there was actually a
written offer in the box.
If there was - then they are only required to keep the router source up
for 3 years.
If there was not - then they are not required to post source in any
form, as it does not affect the license, because linux was never licenced.
You cannot technically comply with GPLv2 after the fact - you need to
either supply the source, or a written offer. You cannot after-the-fact
'accompany it with' either a written offer or source code.
Of course - posting the source may affect hypothetical damages from
their copyright violations.
(Linksys has no rights to distribute linux in the above cases, but the
users are licensed separately by clause 6.)
