4 ms·

An NDA does not override the GPL, and does not shield from its obligations. As you say, it's "not up to them" to decide which legal obligations they will honor.

oneplane 4y ago
I didn't write anything about overriding, did I? I presented a problem scenario where one plus is screwed because they are in between conflicting legal settings.
- car_analogy 4y ago
  > I didn't write anything about overriding, did I? > In other words: unlikely to happen because of NDAs
  - trasz 4y ago
    What are real-life consequences of violating GPL, compared to breaking the NDA?
    - car_analogy 4y ago
      The NDA probably has explicit terms outlining the consequences of breaking it, so I can't answer that. But as for the GPL, whatever damages or remedy a court might impose for the violation of copyright. Not complying with the GPL makes this legally equivalent to distributing a copy of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi with each phone. I'm sure no-one would be dismissing that as something unlikely to bear consequences. And the law protects Star Wars and GPL'd code equally.
      - Semaphor 4y ago
        > And the law protects Star Wars and GPL'ed code equally. The law, maybe. But governments/courts protect them very unequally, as only one of them has people throwing money at politicians.
        deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
    - yyyk2 4y ago
      Being sued for copyright infringement.
      - oneplane 4y ago
        Does that matter if the company is based in China? Unless they are mainly exporting to a western country where customs could halt imports, legal action against china hasn't been very effective.
    - oneplane 4y ago
      It's hard to tell since most GPL violations are simply ignored, and most NDAs are secret to begin with. In general, the NDA-spamming companies have more money than GPL-defending groups, so from that perspective a real-life consequence could be that the company has to spend money on legal either way, and might simply pick the cheapest route. In some cases (Linksys for example), making a small modification and then releasing everything that wasn't encumbered was enough to solve both issues. In general, breaking an NDA is far more costly than violating the GPL, even if it were enforced like NDAs are.
  - oneplane 4y ago
    Just because it's unlikely to happen doesn't mean it's overriding anything. They might simply delete all references, out-lawyer anyone who tries to sue them or simply ignore everything since they are based in China. Again, just because it is illegal doesn't mean therefore something will change. It just means it's illegal. Then you have litigation, but that might not change anything either. So the situation is the same, which means that your proposed action is unlikely to be the resulting outcome.

oneplane 4y ago

I didn't write anything about overriding, did I? I presented a problem scenario where one plus is screwed because they are in between conflicting legal settings.

car_analogy 4y ago
> I didn't write anything about overriding, did I? > In other words: unlikely to happen because of NDAs
- trasz 4y ago
  What are real-life consequences of violating GPL, compared to breaking the NDA?
  - car_analogy 4y ago
    The NDA probably has explicit terms outlining the consequences of breaking it, so I can't answer that. But as for the GPL, whatever damages or remedy a court might impose for the violation of copyright. Not complying with the GPL makes this legally equivalent to distributing a copy of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi with each phone. I'm sure no-one would be dismissing that as something unlikely to bear consequences. And the law protects Star Wars and GPL'd code equally.
    - Semaphor 4y ago
      > And the law protects Star Wars and GPL'ed code equally. The law, maybe. But governments/courts protect them very unequally, as only one of them has people throwing money at politicians.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
  - yyyk2 4y ago
    Being sued for copyright infringement.
    - oneplane 4y ago
      Does that matter if the company is based in China? Unless they are mainly exporting to a western country where customs could halt imports, legal action against china hasn't been very effective.
  - oneplane 4y ago
    It's hard to tell since most GPL violations are simply ignored, and most NDAs are secret to begin with. In general, the NDA-spamming companies have more money than GPL-defending groups, so from that perspective a real-life consequence could be that the company has to spend money on legal either way, and might simply pick the cheapest route. In some cases (Linksys for example), making a small modification and then releasing everything that wasn't encumbered was enough to solve both issues. In general, breaking an NDA is far more costly than violating the GPL, even if it were enforced like NDAs are.
- oneplane 4y ago
  Just because it's unlikely to happen doesn't mean it's overriding anything. They might simply delete all references, out-lawyer anyone who tries to sue them or simply ignore everything since they are based in China. Again, just because it is illegal doesn't mean therefore something will change. It just means it's illegal. Then you have litigation, but that might not change anything either. So the situation is the same, which means that your proposed action is unlikely to be the resulting outcome.