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I was wondering: what if I am able to extract the firmware from a device, or download the firmware from their website? Should I then also be able to ask for the
by Fnoord 7y ago
I was wondering: what if I am able to extract the firmware from a device, or download the firmware from their website? Should I then also be able to ask for the source? AFAICT, the answer to this question is: Yes.
- toyg 7y agoIANAL but yes, distribution is distribution. If one distributes GPLed code, one is subject to GPL terms towards whoever received such software. I guess the exception would be malice or misrepresentation, e.g. faking you are a customer in order to download the firmware, or hacking servers and grabbing stuff. In that case the vendor is not wilfully distributing, and hence not subject to GPL terms. In the case of extracting firmware, though, one might run afoul of anti-reverse-engineering provisions in laws like DMCA.