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55 Comments
- nicktx, on 12/07/2007, -1/+29I want to see the SFLC pursue this in court and get statutory damages for every customer Verizon provided with the said router.
- inactive, on 12/07/2007, -1/+24my girlfriends dad has fios. when ever a page 404's it displays verizon ads in a frame above the 404 message. messed up if you ask me
- aldenhg, on 12/07/2007, -0/+21So we're going to have another router on which we can install DD-WRT. That's always nice.
- schestowitz, on 12/07/2007, -3/+20Verizon has just sidled with Android (Linux/java satck), so they ought to know the GPL better than that. This isn't an innocent mistake, but they can hopefully fix it and settle.
- asforme, on 12/07/2007, -0/+13I hate the fact that Verison may have violated the GPL (I didn't RTA because it is down), but if this delays FIOS getting to my area and I'm forced to stay with Comcast any longer I'm gonna be pissed.
- latova, on 12/07/2007, -0/+12I don't think they intentionally did this, they probably just are lazy. Regardless, its no excuse.
- banmaster, on 12/08/2007, -1/+11Er, yes. Yes they do.
- Bense, on 12/07/2007, -0/+9I hope they get burned for this.
- InorganicMatter, on 12/07/2007, -1/+10What's up with these big corporations abusing the GPL lately? Do they honestly think that they can get away with this?
- nanostream, on 12/08/2007, -0/+7The GNU GPL is COPYLEFT
- Matt2k, on 12/08/2007, -0/+6This is timely news, and most appropriate.
The MI424WR is given a 1KB (estimated) NAT table, and so doing something like refreshing a server list on steam renders the router inoperable for 3-5 minutes until the connection pool empties. I wrote actiontec about it, but they said Verizon had mandated the limit (presumably to limit P2P?). I would love to see an open source firmware replacement for this router. - nicktx, on 12/08/2007, -0/+5When you're missing is that GPL is about freedom, not for pushing DRM schemes restricting user's rights to use what they've purchased or lengthy EULAs and TOS' stripping you of your legal rights. I wish it was a fair playing field but it's not and I'm glad that the pendulum occasionally swings the other way. Most diggers don't advocate for piracy, they just want their rights respected - what's left of them anyway.
- nicktx, on 12/08/2007, -1/+5If I get pulled over for speeding, I don't think the argument my car is no longer even moving is going to stop the cop from writing me a ticket. GPL v2 requires that if you use software licensed under GPL as a part of your software, you must also license your software under the GPL and make the source code available. You don't have right to distribute your work with the promise that you are eventually going to release the source code or that you need to be told by the court to comply.
- lufthanza, on 12/08/2007, -1/+5They asked three weeks ago for them to do something about the gpl infringement, and Verizon blew them off. SLFC doesn't sue people without contacting them and trying to get the source code w/o litigation.
- tnoo, on 12/08/2007, -0/+4As a FiOS customer and someone who was given the MI424WR router when I was setup with the FiOS service all I have to say is, who cares. If you are a customer who has used this router you know how absolutely horrible this router is. Using this router will kill your connection if you have more than 3 computers using it at the same time and P2P with this router is nearly impossible. While configuring this router isn't too terribly difficult, there are many other routers out there that are much easier to use. Don't let the Verizon rep tell you that you can't use another router with the FiOS connection either. All it takes is a little MAC address spoofing and your set with a better router handling your connection. Take it from someone who has dealt with the headaches of this router and overcome them by replacing it with a much better more widely available router.
- kd1s, on 12/08/2007, -2/+5Oh this is absolutely fantastic. I've hated Verizon for some time now and was particularly pissed off when they patented prior art and then tried to sue Vonage.
Now they get their just deserts. - multitude, on 12/07/2007, -1/+4This is fantastic news. If you support organizations that help to keep software free, like the one bringing charges against Verizon now, consider joining the Free Software Foundation. They are the organization that writes the GPL, and they help to make sure that companies respect its' terms.
- allaun, on 12/07/2007, -1/+4http://news.digitaltrends.com/news/story/15065/ver ...
- Opiate, on 12/07/2007, -2/+5Except that they only need to provide the code when asked for, you could almost argue that this isn't really a public distribution so technically they only need to give it to the people with the routers on request. I could be wrong here but at the very least if they provide code they are in full compliance. If they refuse then the lawsuit may have merit for damages.
- duality, on 12/08/2007, -0/+2"Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by stupidity."
I forget where that statement comes from, but it applies here.
There have indeed been a lot of publicly disclosed GPL violations, but the few that actually escalate to lawsuits are usually because the perpetrator thinks it doesn't need to be taken seriously. These days, most people know that lawsuits from GPL violations don't cost violators much money, but they tend to be extremely bad for public relations. A good kick in the pants to show them we're serious is usually all they need. - flarn2006, on 12/08/2007, -1/+3I just recently got FiOS service (just like a week or two ago :p) and the MI424WR is just the router they gave us!
- sexybobo, on 12/08/2007, -0/+2it wont. it will be like every other GPL violation case. verison will realize it will be cheaper to release the code then go to court so they will settle out of court expect the source to be on their site in less than 1 month.
My question tho why is 95% of all gpl violations against BusyBox this is at least the 4 or 5th case i have seen with BusyBox gpl violation - newznozzl, on 12/07/2007, -1/+3Thanks, that link worked. Was the original just bad? Wish there was a way to deal with that...
- themoosejuice, on 12/08/2007, -0/+2Does that mean they lower rates with the vonage lawsuit money?
- AeroGuy, on 12/08/2007, -0/+2That is an excellent point, actorboy, the open source crowd are quite possibly the most scrupulous people on the planet when it comes to respecting copyrights. So, no, they don't "hypocrite much." They seek not to restrict your ability to use their work, but to enhance it *beyond* what you would otherwise be allowed. They are not trying to stop Verizon from using it. They are trying to make Verizon share it now that they have used (and distributed) it.
(Need an example of their scruples? Look at the claims by SCO that Linux authors had infringed millions of line of code from proprietary Unix. That hasn't been working out so well for SCO in court. It turns out that the infringement was apparently all on the side of SCO for distributing GPL'd Linux. Oops.) - firefoxman, on 12/08/2007, -0/+2They aren't suing for money, yuriko474, just for compliance.
Also, jail time cannot be awarded for breech of contract, unless that was in the contract, which it wasn't. - init100, on 12/09/2007, -0/+2"Also, jail time cannot be awarded for breech of contract"
Not only breach of contract, but any civil suit. Only criminal convictions can result in jail time. - TheWindBlows, on 12/08/2007, -0/+2especially since they already are slightly losing on FiOS at the moment too.
- firefoxman, on 12/08/2007, -0/+1This does not comply with the GPL.
They have to provide a written offer telling people what to do to get the source, or provide the source with the router, as they are the distributor.
Also, they have made additional changes when they adapted the router to their own purposes. - unixfool, on 04/24/2008, -0/+1I don't believe it works like that, but you can try. In the end, Verizon still owns the router (at least per MY FIOS contract). I'd not want to brick any of their equipment that I'd have to pay for.
Secondly, I replaced my Actiontec FIOS router with a Linksys WRT54GS that has Tomato firmware. I didn't even have to spoof a MAC address, either. The Actiontec is behind the Linksys (since I still need the Actiontec for the FIOS TV solution), but the Linksys IS the better router. - yuriko474, on 12/08/2007, -1/+2Hope they have to pay ridiculous amounts of money.. it's only fair.. I mean they only stole something, pretended it was theirs and sold it to thousands of people.. how does ten years in jail sound.. oh wait it's only illegal if your an individual who download music/movies..
- flatfish, on 12/08/2007, -0/+1If you think you hate Verizon now, read this article and see how much you hate them after you read it:
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/119096 ...
Warning: THIS IS VERY SAD STUFF...............
Also I am not sure how long the link will be active. - Kamujin, on 12/09/2007, -1/+2Verizon is a piece of crap company. Before Vonage, Verizon would charge me $200 for worse service then Vonage gave me for $25.
Voice on data networks is obvious. SIP is a standard protocol. Anything that runs them is an implimentation of an obvious standard protocol.
Verizon deserves all the bad-will it gets for sueing Vonage. - blueorder, on 12/08/2007, -1/+2This doesn't happen for me. He must have loaded some Verizon specific software from their software package.
- nanostream, on 12/08/2007, -1/+2I was happy with everything I read from the article except for the"injunction barring the telecom from distributing BusyBox in any of its products." This just doesn't make sense to me - why stop the adoption of free and open source software when you have the ability just to monetarily penalize the company?
- kd1s, on 12/08/2007, -0/+1They pulled it already. Can you give a synopsis?
- Vanburene, on 07/23/2008, -0/+0Verizon Business Enhances Calling Detail for Wholesale Customers
http://www.sourcerelease.com/corp/kw0?r=cmmmmr - nybound, on 12/08/2007, -1/+1First, shouldn't the lawsuit be against Actiontec since they are the router manufacturer?
Second, the source code is located at
http://opensource.actiontec.com/index.html - sexybobo, on 12/08/2007, -1/+1Usually just lazy.
- liquidjamm, on 12/08/2007, -1/+1How is FIOS stacks up against Cox Cable in NE, anyone?
Thanks. - init100, on 12/09/2007, -1/+1But if the source code is released and assuming that the router contains an upgrade mechanism, why buy another router when you can upgrade your own with a customized firmware?
- unixfool, on 04/24/2008, -0/+0I believe that Verizon contracted Actiontec to build this router's firmware specifically for their FIOS. Basically, it is Verizon calling the shots, not Actiontec.
- init100, on 12/09/2007, -1/+1Maybe because Linux is very popular in embedded systems, and Busybox is a very common and highly popular component of embedded Linux systems?
- lolo2007, on 01/20/2008, -0/+0Hope they have to pay ridiculous amounts of money.. it's only fair.. I mean they only stole something, pretended it was theirs and sold it to thousands of people.. how does ten years in jail sound.. oh wait it's only illegal if your an individual who download music/movies..
http://game.paramegsoft.com/
http://download.paramegsoft.com/ - shubis, on 12/08/2007, -2/+1If Verizon does end up paying a large sum of money, chances are the subscribers are the ones who will end up footing the bill through higher rates..
- jcaino, on 12/07/2007, -4/+3wow...arstechnica ***** the bed?
- FredSpeaking, on 12/08/2007, -2/+1Direct: http://www.softwarefreedom.org/news/2007/dec/07/bu ...
- TheWindBlows, on 12/08/2007, -2/+1we're going to have to take that in as evidence.
- z0mbie2099, on 12/08/2007, -3/+2Hell yeah! And you bastards start suing companies like Vonage. Take that bitches.
- TheSwashbuckler, on 12/08/2007, -4/+2"and get statutory damages for every customer Verizon provided with the said router."
They can't, at least not as a part of this lawsuit. They could do a class action lawsuit for the customers though. Problem is, they'd have to show damages. -
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