August 29, 2007 at 16:25FSF addresses Microsoft: you cannot be outlawed
Microsoft's intention to ignore the GPLv3 license upgrade is illegal. Such a warning to the redmond giant was published by the Free Software Foundation.
This is a scandalous statement by Microsoft that it is supposedly not obliged to accept the third version of the GPL software license, which it supports under agreements with Novell, Xandros and Linspire (these three companies are official Microsoft partners). For example, for the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server system, it does not intend to upgrade the license.
And two months later, the official response of the Free Software Foundation followed. FSF lawyers analyzed the maneuver of Microsoft and declared it a check, that is, they directly accused it of breaking the law.
Quote from the text of the FSF statement .
We do not ... agree with Microsoft's interpretation of the situation around GPLv3. Microsoft cannot commit acts of provisional repudiation of obligations assumed by another's copyright. If Microsoft distributes our work licensed under GPLv3, or pays others to distribute it on its own behalf, then it must do so in accordance with the terms of the license. She ... cannot declare herself an exception to GPLv3 requirements.
Microsoft has stated that it expects respect for its so-called “intellectual property,” an advocacy term designed to confuse patent law with copyright law and other irrelevant laws, and to obscure other things that they do. We guarantee - and, as long as our resources are enough, we guarantee our licensors - that Microsoft will respect our copyrights and comply with the terms of our licenses.
This is a scandalous statement by Microsoft that it is supposedly not obliged to accept the third version of the GPL software license, which it supports under agreements with Novell, Xandros and Linspire (these three companies are official Microsoft partners). For example, for the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server system, it does not intend to upgrade the license.
And two months later, the official response of the Free Software Foundation followed. FSF lawyers analyzed the maneuver of Microsoft and declared it a check, that is, they directly accused it of breaking the law.
Quote from the text of the FSF statement .
We do not ... agree with Microsoft's interpretation of the situation around GPLv3. Microsoft cannot commit acts of provisional repudiation of obligations assumed by another's copyright. If Microsoft distributes our work licensed under GPLv3, or pays others to distribute it on its own behalf, then it must do so in accordance with the terms of the license. She ... cannot declare herself an exception to GPLv3 requirements.
Microsoft has stated that it expects respect for its so-called “intellectual property,” an advocacy term designed to confuse patent law with copyright law and other irrelevant laws, and to obscure other things that they do. We guarantee - and, as long as our resources are enough, we guarantee our licensors - that Microsoft will respect our copyrights and comply with the terms of our licenses.