For nearly 25 years, the Free Software Foundation's (FSF) "FrequentlyAsked Questions about the GNU Licenses" have been an importanteducational resource about the GNU General Public Licenses (GPL).
Unfortunately, Vizio, Inc., an American publicly traded company thatdesigns and sells televisions, sound bars, viewer data, andadvertising, has attempted to exploit the FSF's FAQs to the detrimentof software freedom in the caseSoftware Freedom Conservancy (SFC),Inc. vs. Vizio, Inc.(case no. 30-2021-01226723-CU-BC-CJC). Inthis case, SFC is requesting that Vizio provide source code toprograms on some Vizio devices that are covered by the GNU GeneralPublic License v2 (GPL) and GNU Lesser General Public License v2.1(LGPL). In response, Vizio has argued that SFC cannot enforce arequest for source code if it does not hold copyright to theunderlying software. In support of that argument, Vizio has madereference to an FAQ that is captioned"Who has the power to enforcethe GPL."
Vizio has now subpoenaed FSF to testify at a deposition in thiscase.
FSF has always intended for the GNU licenses to promote thefreedomto run, copy, distribute, study, change, and improvesoftware —which requires that source code be shared with users.
Vizio's attempt to leverage an FSF FAQ to avoid being held accountableunder the GNU GPL is both malicious and ironic. Users should be freeto enforce their right to source code under the GNU GPL licensesthrough any available legal mechanism, without having to rely on acopyright holder to take action.
In that spirit, we have updated the aboveFAQto read as follows:
Q: Who has the power to enforce the GPL?
A: Since the GPL is a copyright license, it can be enforced by thecopyright holders of the software. If you see a violation of the GPL,you should inform the developers of the GPL-covered softwareinvolved. They either are the copyright holders, or are connectedwith the copyright holders.
In addition, we encourage the use of any legal mechanism available tousers for obtaining complete and corresponding source code, as istheir right, and enforcing full compliance with the GNU GPL. Afterall, we developed the GNU GPL to make software free for all itsusers.
The update better reflects the intention of the GNU GPL licenses.
We are preparing to deliver deposition testimony in response toVizio's subpoena. We will continue to closely monitor the case, and wesupport the SFC in their efforts. Needless to say, a court decisionconfirming users' standing to enforce their right to source code underthe GNU GPL licenses would be a great help in ensuring softwarefreedom.
The FSF invests much of our limited resources in activities thatsafeguard enforcement of the GNU GPL licenses, which includesextensive preparation for this deposition with legal counsel. Pleaseconsider making afinancial contributionto enable us to continuedoing this work. If you don't have the financial means, you can alsocontribute to theGNU Project, or help investigatepossible GPLviolations.
