Software Freedom Law Center

The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) is an organization that provides legal representation and related services to protectand advance free software / open source software. It was launched in February 2005 with Eben Moglen as Chairman. Initial funding of $4 million USD was pledged by Open Source Development Labs.

A news article stated: "Moglen expects – in fact, plans for – a large turnover in the staff. After five years, he anticipates 20 to 30 lawyers will have passed through the Center. By the time these alumni move on, Moglen hopes that its members will have the expertise to advise both communities and corporations alike. It will also create a loose association whose members can consult with each other as necessary." [http://trends.newsforge.com/trends/05/02/11/2216239.shtml?tid=147]

GPL version 3

SFLC is particularly known for its role in the drafting of version 3 of the GNU General Public License (GPLv3). This work was done on behalf of its client, the Free Software Foundation.

BusyBox Litigation

During 2007 and 2008, SFLC filed a series of copyright infringement lawsuits against various defendants, on behalf of Erik Andersen and Rob Landley, the principal developers of BusyBox. These lawsuits claimed violations of version 2 of the GNU General Public License (GPLv2).

On September 20, 2007 SFLC filed a lawsuit against Monsoon Multimedia, Inc. [ [http://www.softwarefreedom.org/news/2007/sep/20/busybox/ SFLC notice on the lawsuit filed against Monsoon Multimedia, Inc.] ] alleging that Monsoon had violated GPLv2 by including BusyBox code in their Monsoon Multimedia HAVA line of products [LinuxWatch: [http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS2535349507.html The device behind the GPL's first U.S. legal test] ] without releasing BusyBox source code. This is believed to be the first U.S. court case in which the complaint concerned a GPL violation. [LinuxWatch: [http://linux-watch.com/news/NS3973290690.html First U.S. GPL lawsuit filed] ] On October 30, 2007, an SFLC press release announced that the lawsuit had been settled with Monsoon agreeing to comply with the GPL and pay a sum of money to the plaintiffs. [ [http://www.softwarefreedom.org/news/2007/oct/30/busybox-monsoon-settlement/ BusyBox Developers and Monsoon Multimedia Agree to Dismiss GPL Lawsuit] ]

On November 20, 2007, SFLC filed a lawsuit against Xterasys Corporation and High-Gain Antennas, LLC. [ [http://www.softwarefreedom.org/news/2007/nov/20/busybox/ Second Round of GPL Infringement Lawsuits Filed on Behalf of BusyBox Developers] ] On December 17, 2007, SFLC announced a settlement with Xterasys; the company agreed to stop product shipments until it published complete source code for the GPL code and to pay an undisclosed sum to the plaintiffs. [ [http://www.softwarefreedom.org/news/2007/dec/17/busybox-xterasys-settlement/ BusyBox Developers and Xterasys Corporation Agree to Settle GPL Lawsuit] ] The suit against High-Gain Antennas was settled on March 6, 2008 with the company agreeing to comply with GPL and paying an undisclosed sum to the plaintiffs. [ [http://www.softwarefreedom.org/news/2008/mar/06/busybox-hga/ BusyBox Developers and High-Gain Antennas Agree to Dismiss GPL Lawsuit] ]

On December 7, 2007 SFLC filed a lawsuit against Verizon Communications, Inc. [ [http://www.softwarefreedom.org/news/2007/dec/07/busybox/ BusyBox Developers File GPL Infringement Lawsuit Against Verizon Communications] ] alleging that Verizon had violated GPLv2 by distributing BusyBox in the Actiontec MI424WR MoCA wireless routers bundled with the FiOS fiber optic bandwidth service, without providing corresponding source code. A settlement announced on March 17, 2008 included an agreement to comply with the GPL and an undisclosed sum paid to the plaintiffs. [ [http://www.softwarefreedom.org/news/2008/mar/17/busybox-verizon/ BusyBox Developers Agree To End GPL Lawsuit Against Verizon] ]

On June 10, 2008, SFLC announced the filing of lawsuits against Bell Microproducts, Inc. and Super Micro Computer, Inc. [ [http://www.softwarefreedom.org/news/2008/jun/10/busybox/ SFLC Files Another Round of GPL Violation Lawsuits on Behalf of BusyBox Developers] ]

Staff

* Eben Moglen, Director-Counsel
* Daniel B. Ravicher, Legal Director
* Bradley Kuhn, FLOSS Community Liaison and Technical Director
* Karen M. Sandler, Counsel
* James Vasile, Counsel
* Aaron Williamson, Counsel
* Ian Sullivan, Executive Secretary
* Rachel A. Wiener, Office Manager

Directors

As of December 2007, SFLC's directors were: [cite web
url=http://www.softwarefreedom.org/about/team/
title=Team - Software Freedom Law Center
accessdate=2007-12-23]
* Eben Moglen (Chairman)
* Philippe Aigrain
* Diane M. Peters
* Mark Webbink
* Daniel J. Weitzner

Former Staff

* Richard Fontana, Counsel
* Matt Norwood, Counsel

Actions

* [http://trends.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/05/11/1328245&tid=147&tid=150&tid=37&tid=132 SFLC adds Wine to client list]
* [http://lwn.net/Articles/135413/ Press Release: SFLC to represent the Wine project] (see also Wine)
* [http://lwn.net/Articles/141806/ X.Org Foundation Hires Software Freedom Law Center]
* [http://plone.org/foundation/newsitems/software-freedom-law-center-support SFLC to represent Plone and the Plone Foundation] (see Plone)

References

External links

* [http://www.softwarefreedom.org SFLC homepage]
* [http://conservancy.softwarefreedom.org Software Freedom Conservancy homepage]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/01/technology/01soft.html?ex=1264914000&en=5f34ceb4a9af3d94&ei=5090 New York Times article about SFLC launch]
* [http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1758202,00.asp eWeek article about SFLC launch]
* [http://trends.newsforge.com/trends/05/02/11/2216239.shtml?tid=147 Moglen plans "general counsel's office for the entire movement"] Feb 2005, Newsforge
* [http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6051589.html ZDNet interview with Eben Moglen where SFLC is discussed]