Unknown-One
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2005
- Messages
- 8,909
This doesn't sound good...
The full blog post is rather in-depth and well worth a read. You can find that here: http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/08/most-android-vendors-lost-their-linux.html
As if there weren't already enough lawsuits and federal investigations being thrown at Google and their partners...
Last week I read about an Android licensing issue that I wasn't previously aware of. It's a pretty serious one, and it's not that hard to understand. The short version is that
- rampant non-compliance with the source code disclosure requirement of the GPLv2 (the license under which Linux is published) -- especially but not only in connection with Honeycomb -- has technically resulted in a loss of most vendors' right to distribute Linux;
- this loss of the distribution license is irremediable except through a new license from each and every contributor to the Linux kernel, without which Android can't run; and
- as a result, there are thousands of people out there who could legally shake down Android device makers, threatening to obtain Apple-style injunctions unless their demands for a new license grant are met.
The full blog post is rather in-depth and well worth a read. You can find that here: http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/08/most-android-vendors-lost-their-linux.html
As if there weren't already enough lawsuits and federal investigations being thrown at Google and their partners...