4 ms·

...and if they're breaking the license, don't "name and shame"; send them a C&D. And if that's ignored, sue them. Seriously, there's some attitude in open sou

by gwd 6y ago

...and if they're breaking the license, don't "name and shame"; send them a C&D. And if that's ignored, sue them. Seriously, there's some attitude in open source circles that looks down on using the law to achieve compliance. Why bother putting up such a carefully thought-out legal document, and then whining on a blog when it's broken, instead of using it for its intended purpose -- a court of law?

brutal_chaos_ 6y ago
Quicker, cheaper, and probably feels good in the moment. The law can work if you have time and money. Also, due to the ill view of patents on this forum, I imagine people here are simply put off from using the law and thus opt for the dopamine hit.
- atdt 6y ago
  Public shaming can be remarkably effective and does not preclude legal action later on if shame itself is insufficient.
- teddyh 6y ago
  Free software enthusiasts ought to know better than to conflate patents and copyright.
- gwd 6y ago
  > Also, due to the ill view of patents on this forum, I imagine people here are simply put off from using the law I'm not talking about HackerNews in particular here. There's a deep divide in the Linux kernel community, for instance, about GPL enforcement. Some people, often represented by the Software Freedom Conservancy, believe in "speak softly but carry a big stick": i.e., try by negotiation to get violators into compliance, but sue when negotiation fails. Other people (including, IIRC people like Greg KH) have at some point openly stated that they would never consider a lawsuit an appropriate course of action. I'm not sure where the Leela Zero and Stockfish people stand on this; I just sort of assumed from the tone of the article that they were in the "never sue" camp. Maybe they're in the "I didn't realize we could do that" camp, in which case I'd strongly recommend they get in touch with SFC.
inopinatus 6y ago
> ... send them a C&D. And if that's ignored, sue them. Why bother putting up such a carefully thought-out legal document ...&c&c&c... instead of using it for its intended purpose -- a court of law? Because * legal action is expensive, time-consuming, and may be simply impossible (or equivalently impracticable) depending on where you, or the other parties, reside/do business; and * legal documents do not in actuality exist to enable someone's courtroom drama fantasies. In anticipation of civil disagreement, competent lawyers will advise that adversarial proceedings are a last resort, not a first measure, and draft documents accordingly.

by gwd 6y ago

brutal_chaos_ 6y ago

Quicker, cheaper, and probably feels good in the moment. The law can work if you have time and money. Also, due to the ill view of patents on this forum, I imagine people here are simply put off from using the law and thus opt for the dopamine hit.

atdt 6y ago
Public shaming can be remarkably effective and does not preclude legal action later on if shame itself is insufficient.
teddyh 6y ago
Free software enthusiasts ought to know better than to conflate patents and copyright.
gwd 6y ago
> Also, due to the ill view of patents on this forum, I imagine people here are simply put off from using the law I'm not talking about HackerNews in particular here. There's a deep divide in the Linux kernel community, for instance, about GPL enforcement. Some people, often represented by the Software Freedom Conservancy, believe in "speak softly but carry a big stick": i.e., try by negotiation to get violators into compliance, but sue when negotiation fails. Other people (including, IIRC people like Greg KH) have at some point openly stated that they would never consider a lawsuit an appropriate course of action. I'm not sure where the Leela Zero and Stockfish people stand on this; I just sort of assumed from the tone of the article that they were in the "never sue" camp. Maybe they're in the "I didn't realize we could do that" camp, in which case I'd strongly recommend they get in touch with SFC.

inopinatus 6y ago

> ... send them a C&D. And if that's ignored, sue them. Why bother putting up such a carefully thought-out legal document ...&c&c&c... instead of using it for its intended purpose -- a court of law? Because * legal action is expensive, time-consuming, and may be simply impossible (or equivalently impracticable) depending on where you, or the other parties, reside/do business; and * legal documents do not in actuality exist to enable someone's courtroom drama fantasies. In anticipation of civil disagreement, competent lawyers will advise that adversarial proceedings are a last resort, not a first measure, and draft documents accordingly.