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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: 2) by hendrikboom on Monday August 07 2017, @02:30AM (1 child)
They could pay the enormous penalties, and release their software with new code that replaces the GPL part of their product. Still costly. but it doesn't involve giving away their work.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Tuesday August 08 2017, @03:05PM
Yes, they could. But in most cases the GPLed portion vastly outweighs their own contribution, so it's not very likely. The fact that so few companies choose to go that route when caught should suggest something about its relative appeal.