tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7130691983203081361.post6149223262603342733..comments2023-08-22T01:17:04.557-04:00Comments on Coding Castles: Open Source License ComplianceJosh Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07856694907555007654noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7130691983203081361.post-25222972822673599552009-12-16T23:41:05.141-05:002009-12-16T23:41:05.141-05:00I understand that license compliance can get very ...I understand that license compliance can get very complicated (such as your article's example of proprietary cell phone code coexisting with a Linux kernel, or the JMRI case of getting into a patent dispute with an open source author while blatantly ignoring that author's license) and are in fact a "mine-field of potential litigation." But, as far as I can tell, some cases of license compliance are actually pretty simple (such as shipping an LGPL'ed Windows DLL, or using a GPL'ed application internally), and I just don't "get" why these seemingly simple cases need extensive license compliance engineering or regular consultation with professional lawyers. Could you explain further?<br /><br />I do recognize that I'm nowhere near an expert on this topic and appreciate the feedback from much more knowledgeable folks. Thank you.Josh Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07856694907555007654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7130691983203081361.post-35662142264673215582009-12-16T01:34:28.683-05:002009-12-16T01:34:28.683-05:00Little companies and individual developers can get...Little companies and individual developers can get away with your strategy sometimes. But what often happens is that they sell their design to a bigger company, and that company produces it, and needs the full license compliance engineering that the little company did not provide. Unfortunately, you can almost count on the little company's engineers and managers getting something wrong because they don't have the legal competence. And thus the big company gets sued for GPL violation, or in the case of JMRI for violating the Artistic license 1.0, which is one of the supposedly low-obligation ones. Once they settle that they sue the little company to recover their expenses. Then I get called in as expert witness to read the testimony of the little company's engineers and managers, and explain it to the judge. Unfortunately, they always look stupid.BrucePerenshttp://perens.com/noreply@blogger.com