How to risk your project and your livelihood with sloppy licensing
Posted by: Anonymous
[ip: 24.84.196.212]
on July 10, 2008 12:20 AM
I don't see any problem here. If they wanted to release it under the GPL there is nothing stopping them from doing so now and bringing the SFLC into the picture. AFAIK.
If they were not going to release as free software they would be exactly where they are now, using copyright law which has a long history and many precedents. Nothing weak about that position.
As the previous poster points out the offending company could do legally under the GPL what they are now doing illegally. The only advantage they have is that likely no one else will compete with their illegal business.
The real lesson here is to 3rd parties who must ensure they don't use unlicensed software in their projects. That would hurt. As for the makers of Pwnage Tool, they still have all their licensing options on the table and the possibility to negotiate licensing with a company already profiting illegally from their work. Of course posting the source code on the net was foolish. Someone could make a case that they were laying a honey trap, I suppose.
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How to risk your project and your livelihood with sloppy licensing
Posted by: Anonymous [ip: 24.84.196.212] on July 10, 2008 12:20 AMIf they were not going to release as free software they would be exactly where they are now, using copyright law which has a long history and many precedents. Nothing weak about that position.
As the previous poster points out the offending company could do legally under the GPL what they are now doing illegally. The only advantage they have is that likely no one else will compete with their illegal business.
The real lesson here is to 3rd parties who must ensure they don't use unlicensed software in their projects. That would hurt. As for the makers of Pwnage Tool, they still have all their licensing options on the table and the possibility to negotiate licensing with a company already profiting illegally from their work. Of course posting the source code on the net was foolish. Someone could make a case that they were laying a honey trap, I suppose.
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