SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
https://www.itwire.com/open-source/linux-kernel-patch-maker-says-court-case-was-only-way-out.html
The head of security firm Open Source Security, Brad Spengler, says he had little option but to file a lawsuit against open source advocate Bruce Perens, who alleged back in 2017 that security patches issued for the Linux kernel by OSS violated the licence under which the kernel is distributed.
The case ended last week with Perens coming out on the right side of things; after some back and forth, a court doubled down on its earlier decision that OSS must pay Perens' legal costs as awarded in June 2018.
The remainder of the article is an interview with Brad Spengler about the case and the issue.
iTWire contacted Spengler soon after the case ended, as he had promised to speak at length about the issue once all legal issues were done and dusted. Queries submitted by iTWire along with Spengler's answers in full are given below:
Previously:
Court Orders Payment of $259,900.50 to Bruce Perens' Attorneys
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Tuesday February 18 2020, @03:48PM
I suppose the question boils down to - does my threat to stop doing business with you in the future constitute a restriction on your rights to the GPL source I just gave you - or does it only constitute a restriction on our future business relationship?
I could certainly see a court case going either way - but it could be a very long and protracted battle. Aftrer all, I am giving you the full source nder the GPL2, and you and anyone downstream are completely free to redistribute it. Unlike more typical clear-cut GPL violations, where the the full source of the derivative work is not made available under the GPL, and the infringer thus clearly has no license to redistribute the code.