Making life (even) harder for proprietary modules

They could still sue for ongoing infringement after that point, assuming Canonical continues to distribute ZFS, but common law jurisdictions may apply the doctrine of laches if the plaintiff was aware of the infringement and intentionally delayed enforcement to prejudice the defendant, regardless of whether the statute of limitations applies. See for example Danjaq LLC v. Sony Corp., 263 F.3d 942 (9th Cir. 2001).[2] The key quote (in my opinion):

> Next, we conclude that claims of infringement stemming from re-releases of Bond movies on DVD have been "delayed" for purposes of laches. On the one hand, we recognize the seemingly paradoxical nature of this conclusion. After all, how can it fairly be said that a lawsuit filed in 1998, relating to a DVD released in 1997 (to take the example of Dr. No) was "delayed"? The answer is simple: Where, as here, the allegedly infringing aspect of the DVD is identical to the alleged infringements contained in the underlying movie, then the two should be treated identically for purposes of laches. It would be incongruous indeed to hold the opposite — to say, that is, that McClory's claim for infringement on a re-release survives, despite the dismissal for laches of the same claim regarding the original work. This exception would effectively swallow the rule of laches, and render it a spineless defense. In analogous contexts, similar theories have been roundly rejected. See, e.g., Hot Wax, Inc. v. Turtle Wax, Inc., 191 F.3d 813, 821-22 (7th Cir. 1999) (trademark case; rejecting the argument that each new instance of infringement must start the clock anew on laches: "Without the availability of the application of laches to a claim arising from a continuing wrong, a party could, theoretically, delay filing suit indefinitely."). We decline to reach such a result here.
>
> For similar reasons, we reject McClory's argument that laches may never bar a claim for infringement brought within the statute of limitations. We have already determined that laches may sometimes bar a statutorily timely claim. Kling, 225 F.3d at 1039; Jackson, 25 F.3d at 888. And, although such an application of laches may be unusual, see Telink, 24 F.3d at 45 n. 3, it is appropriate here. Even leaving aside the special circumstance of re-releases, we conclude in any event that McClory's extraordinary delay and the extraordinary prejudice to Danjaq render laches appropriate despite the statute of limitations. Id. at 46 n. 5 ("If the defendant can show harm from the delay, the court may, in extraordinary circumstances, defeat the claim based on laches, though the claim is within the analogous limitations period.").

[1]: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/507
[2]: https://casetext.com/case/danjaq-llc-v-sony-corporation