Hi guys! I think it's beautiful! And - yes, I can help with this! And might be we will try to re-build the firmware also, to flash it on the device! And they should also give us some data to create the firmware acceptable by u-boot. thank you!!
On Thu, 27 Jun 2013, Nils Faerber wrote: ==Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 15:39:55 +0200 ==From: Nils Faerber <[email protected]> ==To: [email protected] ==Cc: Enrico Mioso <[email protected]>, [email protected] ==Subject: Re: [GPL Violation] Vodafone (DE) -> ArCadyan -> Easybox 904 product == ==Hello all! ==First of all, sorry for the cross-post to legal and tech but this ==concerns both... == ==I just got a call from one of the developers of the Easybox from ==Vodafone Germany! Many thanks also go to Neil for forwarding this within ==Vodafone - it did reach the right people, as it seems. == ==Vodafone has recognised the GPL breach and, to what the contact said, ==they very explicitely required correct GPL/LGPL handling from their ==supplier but there seemed to be some "communication problem", he said. == ==Vodafone revisited the problem and now has a tar-ball of the sources! ==Yeah! ==And they ask if we could help them, as they did not develop the ==software, to check if the tar-ball is complete. ==Well, I think this is fair. == ==So I would like to ask here for some additional eyes to look on this ==tar-ball? We would get a first version, can analyse it and comment on it ==before Vodafone puts it up for public consumption. ==I think up to three or four people would be nice. == ==Who would be willing to help? == == ==He also said that the original firmware contains proprietary parts like ==a SIP server. Vodafone originally had the plan to release two firmwares ==- a proprietary one which is the one one gets when buying the product ==and a "community edition", fully working and flashable but without the ==proprietary parts. ==I think this is excellent! But they currently still have legal concerns, ==e.g. emergency dialling and such. But once the sources are out and we ==get into good contact with them I think the community project will be ==the logical next step. == ==Cheers == nils == == ==Am 22.06.2013 00:29, schrieb Nils Faerber: ==> Hello all! ==> OK, this gets interesting... ==> ==> The device in question is the Vodafone EasyBox 904 LTE. ==> ==> Its firmware can be downloaded from the already mentioned public ==> download link ==> ==> http://media.vodafone.de/www/assets/software/FW904/UEfullimage_AT904L-01.07.bin ==> ==> which sits behind a legal disclaimer ==> ==> http://www.vodafone.de/business/hilfe-support/support-firmware-easybox-904-lte-modem_209581.html#rights ==> ==> which pretty clearly already violates the GPL/LGPL licenses since it ==> denies the right to pass on the free software contained in the device. ==> And of course no mention about the free software contained. ==> ==> The firmware "bin" file is a UBoot uImage format binary containing a ==> LZMA compressed SquashFS which can easily be uncompressed by the latest ==> SquashFS Utils. ==> ==> Besides busybox (GPL) it contains at least a dozen of other components ==> that are also either GPL or LGPL licensed. A major one are large parts ==> of OpenWRT, in /etc/ one can find: ==> ==> openwrt_version: ==> 10.03.1-RC5 ==> ==> openwrt_release: ==> DISTRIB_ID="OpenWrt" ==> DISTRIB_RELEASE="10.03" ==> DISTRIB_CODENAME="backfire" ==> DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="OpenWrt Backfire 10.03" ==> ==> ==> The manual (German) of the device which can be found here ==> ==> http://media.vodafone.de/www/assets/pdf/hilfe-und-support/services/EasyBox_904_LTE_-_Handbuch_Stand_20.6.2012.pdf ==> ==> reproduces on page 170 the full GPL version 3 license text but omits the ==> "written offer" to request the sourcecode and where to do so. ==> ==> The manual also mentions a company ==> Astoria networks GmbH ==> Koelner Strasse 10b, ==> 65760 Eschborn ==> ==> as the manufacturer of the device. They again have a web page dedicated ==> to the EasyBox 904 LTE and open source sourcecodes contain therein ==> ==> http://www.astorianetworks.com/astoria/Easybox%20904%20LTE.html ==> ==> But there is no code! Just a "coming soon". ==> Same is BTW true for their other product, the "Livebox 2.1". ==> ==> ==> So for me the case is pretty clear now. ==> ==> There is a *massive* GPL/LGPL violation going on. ==> Vodafone is ignoring the GPL/LGPL almost completely. ==> And the manufacturer "Astoria" has recognised that they need to offer ==> the sources but they do not do it either. ==> ==> Since Vodafone is the company actually openly distributing the device ==> containing the compiled versions of the software and is also offering ==> the compiled version in the form of a binary file for public download ==> (see above) they are actively violating the GPL/LGPL. ==> ==> Cheers ==> nils ==> ==> ==> Am 21.06.2013 18:54, schrieb Neil Brown: ==>> On 21 Jun 2013, at 15:12, Nils Faerber <[email protected]> wrote: ==>> ==>> Enrico, Nils ==>> ==>>> Please post more follow-ups concerning the ==>>> Vodafone Easybox case to the legal list ==>> ==>> You are more than welcome to email your concerns to [email protected], and I can try to find an appropriate contact within Vodafone DE? ==>> ==>> Just please bear in mind that I don't work for Vodafone DE, nor do I have any knowledge of this particular product. (Similarly, when I post on this list, I do so in my personal capacity, as someone interested in the legal issues around FOSS, and not as an employee / spokesman of Vodafone.) ==>> ==>> ==>> Best wishes, ==>> ==>> Neil ==> == == ==-- ==Viele Gr??e == nils faerber ==
