Hi,
A few weeks ago Andrew Miklas wrote about a potential GPL violation
with the Linksys WRT54G wireless access point. I may have something
that falls into the same category, namely the Nokia A036.
Nokia A036 is a 802.11b access point, small in size and with some
nice features. Besides using a web interface it's possible to
telnet into the device to configure it. Here's a sample session:
LocalAP login: root
Password:
#
# uname -a
Linux LocalAP 2.4.17-uc0 #17 Tue Nov 5 20:12:26 CST 2002 armv4l unknown
# grep -v
BusyBox v0.51 (2002.11.05-12:11+0000) multi-call binary
Usage: grep [-ihHnqvs] pattern [files...]
# cat /proc/cpuinfo
Processor : ARM Arm940 rev 1 (v4l)
BogoMIPS : 89.49
Hardware : POLDHU
Revision : 0000
Serial : 0000000000000000
# cat /proc/version
Linux version 2.4.17-uc0 ([email protected]) (gcc version 2.95.3.2 20010315 (release)) #17 Tue Nov 5 20:12:26 CST 2002
So, it's quite clear that this access point runs Linux and BusyBox.
It does not use modules - the kernel seems to be static. Therefore
I must assume that the drivers for the wireless interface are
free software too.
I have the factory package and product CD for the A036, but there's
no sign of the GNU GPL anywhere - or pointers where to get the
source code - just the normal Nokia copyright texts and disclaimers.
Having the source code would be useful in learning how this device
works. It might also be handy for customizing this device.
How should I (and the Linux community) proceed to solve this problem?
Perhaps someone at Nokia is reading this?
Regards,
Tomi Lapinlampi
--
You can decide: live with free software or with only one evil company left?
Tomi,
Who cares, the world according to Roman .. it all should be free and to
pursue litigation of any kind will offend people and they will not use
Linux.
-a
On Fri, 25 Jul 2003, Tomi Lapinlampi wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> A few weeks ago Andrew Miklas wrote about a potential GPL violation
> with the Linksys WRT54G wireless access point. I may have something
> that falls into the same category, namely the Nokia A036.
>
> Nokia A036 is a 802.11b access point, small in size and with some
> nice features. Besides using a web interface it's possible to
> telnet into the device to configure it. Here's a sample session:
>
> LocalAP login: root
> Password:
> #
> # uname -a
> Linux LocalAP 2.4.17-uc0 #17 Tue Nov 5 20:12:26 CST 2002 armv4l unknown
> # grep -v
> BusyBox v0.51 (2002.11.05-12:11+0000) multi-call binary
>
> Usage: grep [-ihHnqvs] pattern [files...]
>
> # cat /proc/cpuinfo
> Processor : ARM Arm940 rev 1 (v4l)
> BogoMIPS : 89.49
> Hardware : POLDHU
> Revision : 0000
> Serial : 0000000000000000
>
> # cat /proc/version
> Linux version 2.4.17-uc0 ([email protected]) (gcc version 2.95.3.2 20010315 (release)) #17 Tue Nov 5 20:12:26 CST 2002
>
> So, it's quite clear that this access point runs Linux and BusyBox.
> It does not use modules - the kernel seems to be static. Therefore
> I must assume that the drivers for the wireless interface are
> free software too.
>
> I have the factory package and product CD for the A036, but there's
> no sign of the GNU GPL anywhere - or pointers where to get the
> source code - just the normal Nokia copyright texts and disclaimers.
>
> Having the source code would be useful in learning how this device
> works. It might also be handy for customizing this device.
>
> How should I (and the Linux community) proceed to solve this problem?
> Perhaps someone at Nokia is reading this?
>
> Regards,
>
> Tomi Lapinlampi
>
> --
> You can decide: live with free software or with only one evil company left?
> -
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> More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
> Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
>
Hi,
On Fri, 25 Jul 2003, Andre Hedrick wrote:
> Who cares, the world according to Roman .. it all should be free and to
> pursue litigation of any kind will offend people and they will not use
> Linux.
Sorry to anyone, who doesn't understand the context, but on irc I tried to
explain to Andre that there might be more civil and effective ways to
solve a conflict than immediately pursuing litigation, but Andre has a
hard time to understand this.
> On Fri, 25 Jul 2003, Tomi Lapinlampi wrote:
>
> > How should I (and the Linux community) proceed to solve this problem?
> > Perhaps someone at Nokia is reading this?
Contacting Nokia and making them aware of this problem, would be a good
first step.
bye, Roman
On Fri, 25 Jul 2003, Andre Hedrick wrote:
> Who cares, the world according to Roman .. it all should be
> free and to pursue litigation of any kind will offend people
> and they will not use Linux.
As Al Viro said earlier:
...you are politely advised to take your crusade and shove it
... I can't speak for anybody else, but I neither need nor
welcome "help" from ideologists of any persuasion.
It is clear you have some sortof personal grievances related to
Linux code and licenses. Please take whatever it is you are
trying to crusade about and do something about it -- somewhere
else. Maybe you should find a lawyer and sue whoever has ticked
you off rather than playing armchair lawyer on the lkml...
Re the Nokia A036, as Copyright holder for BusyBox, I have
emailed the folks at Nokia and I have no doubt they will take
care of the problem shortly. A polite email asking people to
comply is usually all it takes. And I also have no doubt, in the
exceedingly unlikely event that litigation should eventually
prove necessary, that my dad (who is a lawyer) would have no
trouble prevailing and could make them pay legal fees and
statutory damages (despite your earlier allegations to the
contrary). Large companies like to respect intellectual property
laws, so chances are roughly 0% this will ever get close to a
courthouse. I see this device was made in .tw -- Nokia probably
purchased distribution rights and hasn't the faintest clue what
is inside...
FYI, I send out (via my father) please-comply-with-the-license
letters reasonably often (i.e. such as for the Linksys WRT54G
mentioned earlier in this thread). I keep such things quiet.
Such love notes have not stopped the spread of Linux... But
frankly, I really don't care if companies are scared away. If
they have not carefully thought through the business case for
using Linux they certainly should not be using it in the first
place. Nobody is being forced to use Linux (and by extension,
busybox, etc), but when they do make the choice to use Linux,
they also choose to either abide by the licensing provisions (the
GPL) or face cease-and-desist letters, copyright violation
lawsuits, and statutory damages.
Thus far I've never earned even one penny of damages (which I
consider a good thing). Because a polite note is usually all it
takes, with the occasional follow up letter from my Dad's lawfirm
asking them to comply by some date, with the occasional follow up
letter giving them a cease-and-desist...
-Erik
--
Erik B. Andersen http://codepoet-consulting.com/
--This message was written using 73% post-consumer electrons--
On Fri, 25 Jul 2003 12:47:07, Erik Andersen wrote:
> On Fri, 25 Jul 2003, Andre Hedrick wrote:
> > Who cares, the world according to Roman .. it all should be
> > free and to pursue litigation of any kind will offend people
> > and they will not use Linux.
>
> As Al Viro said earlier:
>
> ...you are politely advised to take your crusade and shove it
> ... I can't speak for anybody else, but I neither need nor
> welcome "help" from ideologists of any persuasion.
>
> It is clear you have some sortof personal grievances related to
> Linux code and licenses. Please take whatever it is you are
> trying to crusade about and do something about it -- somewhere
> else. Maybe you should find a lawyer and sue whoever has ticked
> you off rather than playing armchair lawyer on the lkml...
It is clear you value your point more than the point Andre is making.
regards, Samium Gromoff
On Fri, 25 Jul 2003, Erik Andersen wrote:
> Re the Nokia A036, as Copyright holder for BusyBox, I have
> emailed the folks at Nokia and I have no doubt they will take
> care of the problem shortly. A polite email asking people to
> comply is usually all it takes. And I also have no doubt, in the
I also more like the `polite' approach.
But... How come we have to send that many `polite' letters these days? Are they
that messy/lazy with software under other licenses too?
Gr{oetje,eeting}s,
Geert
--
Geert Uytterhoeven -- There's lots of Linux beyond ia32 -- [email protected]
In personal conversations with technical people, I call myself a hacker. But
when I'm talking to journalists I just say "programmer" or something like that.
-- Linus Torvalds