Removing code doesn't really solve the problem [LWN.net]

Removing code doesn't really solve the problem

Posted Aug 26, 2017 0:57 UTC (Sat) by perlwolf (guest, #46060)
In reply to: Removing code doesn't really solve the problem by bkuhn
Parent article: Patrick McHardy and copyright profiteering (Opensource.com)

While the ten year gap is a serious problem, writing McHardy out of the kernel would still be a useful step. It would be useful in court (with a well-researched lawyer) to limit damages by showing that the code that gives him standing is extremely low value (in fact, part of writing that code out of the kernel could be to document how little effort was required to remove it), and that the owners of the vast majority of the code have diagnosed McHardy as a far more serious issue that the defendants. "Defendant is found guilty, damages are determined to be one Euro, no award of legal costs!" would be wonderful verdict and a strong disincentive to McHardy to continue.

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Removing code doesn't really solve the problem

Posted Aug 26, 2017 1:22 UTC (Sat) by bkuhn (subscriber, #58642) [Link]

The additional issue is that some execs and lawyers are overreacting to McHardy. Raising awareness about his inappropriate activities have already slowed him down. At this point, multiple people are out there ready to help anyone who is approached by McHardy to come into compliance. Conservancy, for example, would be glad to help anyone who comes to us and wants to comply with GPL.

What I've observed is the McHardy fear being blown out of proportion to disparage all GPL enforcement in general. There is no need to marshal extensive resources for the minor problem McHardy creates. That's why I support instead marshaling resources for freely available Copyleft compliance education materials, which will help not only the McHardy situation, but generally help everyone improve compliance so anyone who imitates McHardy will fail at the start. And, people who want to do enforcement the right way can and should do so; we published the Principles to guide such enforcement. More enforcement done properly will drown out the rare outlier.