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https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/08/03/linux_kernel_grsecurity_sues_bruce_perens_for_defamation/
In late June, noted open-source programmer Bruce Perens warned that using Grsecurity's Linux kernel security could invite legal trouble.
"As a customer, it's my opinion that you would be subject to both contributory infringement and breach of contract by employing this product in conjunction with the Linux kernel under the no-redistribution policy currently employed by Grsecurity," Perens wrote on his blog.
The following month, Perens was invited to court. Grsecurity sued the open-source doyen, his web host, and as-yet-unidentified defendants who may have helped him draft that post, for defamation and business interference.
Grsecurity offers Linux kernel security patches on a paid-for subscription basis. The software hardens kernel defenses through checks for common errors like memory overflows. Perens, meanwhile, is known for using the Debian Free Software Guidelines to draft the Open Source Definition, with the help of others.
Linus Torvalds, who oversees the Linux kernel, has called Grsecurity's patches "garbage".
... (read the rest at the register)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 06 2017, @02:18AM (2 children)
Time to update your facts database. FOSS has been defended, and even uphold in court. See NeXT's ObjC contribution to GCC https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/pragmatic.html [gnu.org] for an out of court deal (and probably the reason Apple now goes with as much as BSD code as they can, they prefer one-way-sharing, "ours is ours and your is ours", or "we want to keep control" if you want to be polite, after all they opened Swift). But if you want a court case instead, see this one https://www.xda-developers.com/us-district-court-rules-gnu-gpl-is-an-enforceable-contract/ [xda-developers.com]
(Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Sunday August 06 2017, @02:22AM (1 child)
It's the court cases that count. Settlements don't establish precedence for future court cases.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 06 2017, @10:49PM
FWIW, settlements can establish precedence for future court cases in many court systems in the U.S. First is that they can function against mutual parties in any regard due to issue preclusion between them. Second is that many settlements, especially between parties with deep pockets, are ratified by consent decrees; this allows full collateral estoppel, even between non-mutual parties, and it can act as precedent, as it is considered a final judgment.