Can we stop this sub-thread?

Posted Feb 1, 2012 1:42 UTC (Wed) by Trelane (subscriber, #56877)
In reply to: Can we stop this sub-thread? by BrucePerens
Parent article: Garrett: The ongoing fight against GPL enforcement

Thank you for your input.

I'd also be quite interested in finding out what this alleged veto mentioned below thing was all about. :) Preferably with links to the supporting evidence.

to post comments

Can we stop this sub-thread?

Posted Feb 1, 2012 2:01 UTC (Wed) by BrucePerens (guest, #2510) [Link] (7 responses)

The interesting thing is that after writing that stuff, Best Buy settled with SFC. They accepted those terms they're complaining about.

The whole "veto" thing (that's Best Buy's language, not SFC's) is that if you settle with SFC, they want you to provide them with copies of new products that contain Free Software before you release them, for a period of three years after you settle. You pay them about $5000 per product to audit the product (which is really cheap). If they say it's infringing, you have to fix the infringement before you release the product. If you and SFC can't agree, you can fall back on the court. In practice, the court hasn't been needed, but I have had to help out a customer when SFC was too slow to respond.

Can we stop this sub-thread?

Posted Feb 1, 2012 2:07 UTC (Wed) by Trelane (subscriber, #56877) [Link] (6 responses)

Interesting; thanks for the info. Where's the settlement? If it's settled, I'd assume it's sealed, so why is the PDF of the defendant's side available?

Regarding the "veto" thing (yes, their wording): What is common for proprietary settlements, generally speaking? (Definitely open question to all)

Sealed

Posted Feb 1, 2012 2:22 UTC (Wed) by BrucePerens (guest, #2510) [Link] (5 responses)

If it's settled, I'd assume it's sealed, so why is the PDF of the defendant's side available?

The parties and the court had not agreed to close the case to public view at that time. They agreed to seal as part of the settlement.

What is common for proprietary settlements, generally speaking?

Very large damage payments.

Sealed

Posted Feb 1, 2012 2:31 UTC (Wed) by Trelane (subscriber, #56877) [Link] (1 responses)

> Very large damage payments.

IMHO, this is likely an easier thing for a company than ongoing compliance verification and potential litigation.

Sealed

Posted Feb 1, 2012 3:13 UTC (Wed) by BrucePerens (guest, #2510) [Link]

IMHO, this is likely an easier thing for a company than ongoing compliance verification and potential litigation.

I am not getting that impression from the companies I work with. They express worse sentiments about their industry partners (one company calls them "frenemies") than they do about us. And you've never seen a truly messed-up work situation for engineers until you've worked in a company that is highly intellectual-property oriented. When they bring me in, I feel more like their therapist than their consultant.

Sealed

Posted Feb 1, 2012 22:11 UTC (Wed) by jiu (guest, #57673) [Link] (2 responses)

And why does SFC not insist on publishing the terms of these settlements? It would make things more straightforward.

Sealed

Posted Feb 2, 2012 1:31 UTC (Thu) by Trelane (subscriber, #56877) [Link]

Because it's sealed. They're not allowed to. I would guess that it's Best Buy's request, but only the SFC knows for certain, and they probably can't say.

Sealed

Posted Feb 2, 2012 5:16 UTC (Thu) by BrucePerens (guest, #2510) [Link]

Bradley wrote today about what the terms are, in this blog posting. It is unfortunate that most defendants are more willing to settle if the terms are sealed. But you can look at the IRS filings which Bradley linked to from his blog posting, and find out what money there was, and where it went.