> When people violate the GPL, it's most likely due to ignorance. "OH, hey, a licence file. Let me delete that, I don't want to be bound bit it". > When we fi

> When people violate the GPL, it's most likely due to ignorance. "OH, hey, a licence file. Let me delete that, I don't want to be bound bit it". > When we find a GPL (or any license violation), why can't we approach it politely (in the first case), educate on the license terms and ask them to comply. That was done, wasn't it? It was pointed out to the rightsholder that this commercial company was selling a product that included his code and were not complying with the licence. > But now my worry is, with the amount of hate these guys received, other companies that are already worried about opening up their codebase and contributing back to OSS, have had their fears confirmed. They can sometimes pay for separate licensing, or they can spend the money and write the software themselves. They want to keep it closed source and earn money by selling licenses (oh, the irony!) but shouldn't be called out when they violate other's rights because it might deter other violators? meh, I'm not buying it.