[wplug] VMWare's GPL violation

[Justin Smith]

A Linux kernel developer named Christoph Hellwig has filed a lawsuit 
against VMWare, a well-known vendor of virtualization software, for violating 
the terms of the GPL.

Vance gave an excellent talk about software licenses a while ago. In case 
you weren't there, or you don't remember the specifics of the GPL, it 
states, in effect, that if you incorporate GPL-licensed code into a product 
you make, that "derivative work" must also be released under the GPL.

VMWare took Christoph's code from the Linux kernel, incorporated it into 
ESXi, its proprietary hypervisor, and has refused to release the source 
code. It has also failed to release[1] the source code for its custom 
version of BusyBox, a stripped-down set of command-line tools that is 
bundled with ESXi.

The Software Freedom Conservancy is raising money[2] to help fund 
Christoph's lawsuit. An anonymous donor is currently matching 
contributions. If you're able to contribute to this cause in any amount - 
even as little as $20 - it would help show proprietary software companies 
that they are *not* exempt from the open source community's rules.


*Justin Smith*
GNU/Linux System Administrator

/"Unix is user-friendly; it's just very selective about who its friends are."/

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[1] http://www.pcworld.com/article/2893852/vmware-sued-for-alleged-gpl-license-infractions.html
[2] http://sfconservancy.org/linux-compliance/vmware-lawsuit-appeal.html