[Office-commits] r9622 - trunk/licensing/writings

[sysadmin]

Author: brett
Date: Mon Sep 21 16:23:55 2009
New Revision: 9622

Log:
revised draft

Modified:
   trunk/licensing/writings/2009-09-france-pr.mdwn

Modified: trunk/licensing/writings/2009-09-france-pr.mdwn
==============================================================================
--- trunk/licensing/writings/2009-09-france-pr.mdwn     Mon Sep 21 16:21:13 
2009        (r9621)
+++ trunk/licensing/writings/2009-09-france-pr.mdwn     Mon Sep 21 16:23:55 
2009        (r9622)
@@ -1,120 +1,46 @@
 ## Paris Court of Appeals condemns Edu4 for violating the GNU General Public 
License
 
-<p>September 21th 2009, for immediate release.</p>
+PARIS, France -- Monday, September 21, 2009 -- In a landmark ruling
+that will set legal precedent, the Paris Court of Appeals decided last
+week that the company Edu4 had violated the license of VNC, a computer
+program released under the GNU General Public License (GPL).  The suit
+was filed by Association pour la formation professionnelle des
+adultes (AFPA), a French education organization.
+
+The events of the case go back to early 2000, when Edu4 was hired to
+provide new computer equipment in AFPA's classrooms.  Shortly
+thereafter, AFPA discovered that VNC was distributed with this
+equipment.  Despite repeated requests, with mediation from FSF France,
+Edu4 refused to provide AFPA with the source code to VNC.
+Furthermore, FSF France later discovered that Edu4 removed copyright
+and license notices in the software.  All of these activities violate
+the terms of the GNU GPL.  AFPA filed suit in 2002 to obtain the
+source code.
+
+"We've long said the GPL is enforceable, and of course we're pleased
+to see another court reaffirm that fact," said Loic Dachary, [TITLE]
+of the Free Software Foundation France.  "But what makes this ruling
+unique is the fact that the suit was filed by a user of the software,
+instead of a copyright holder.  It's a commonly-held belief that only
+the copyright holder of a work can enforce its license&mdash;but
+that's not true in France."
+
+"This decision should raise awareness about free software licensing
+for everyone involved with it," added [PERSON].  "Companies
+distributing the software have been given a strong reminder that the
+license's terms are real and enforceable.  And users in France can
+rest assured that, if need be, they can avail themselves of the legal
+system to see violations addressed."
+
+The Court's ruling is available on the web at
+<http://fsffrance.org/news/arret-ca-paris-16.09.2009.pdf>.
+
+### Media Contacts
+
+Loic Dachary  
+TITLE  
+Free Software Foundation France  
+PHONE  
+EMAIL  
 
-<p>
-On September 16th 2009, in a landmark ruling [1] that will set legal
-precedent, the Court of Appeals of Paris condemned the company Edu4
-[2] for distributing the Free Software program VNC [3] to its customer AFPA 
[4] without including source code and removing mandatory notices referring to 
the GNU
-General Public License (GPL) [5]. The author of VNC was not a party to the 
trial: AFPA claimed
-its rights as a user of Free Software.</p>
-
-<p>
-These events go back to early 2000, when AFPA published a
-tender worth several million euros to renew the equipment in its
-classrooms. The company Edu4 won this public tender. During the summer
-of 2001, as the first phase of the tender was being debriefed, AFPA
-discovered that the Free Software VNC was used to allow teachers
-to gain control of the students' computers. Despite repeated requests
-and the mediation of FSF France [6], Edu4 refused to provide the
-source code of VNC. AFPA filed a lawsuit and it was not until 2002
-that Edu4 agreed to provide this source code. FSF France then discovered that 
Edu4
-also changed the copyright references, claiming to be the author of
-VNC, and deleted the text of the GNU GPL. The legal battle
-continued for several years.
-</p>
-
-<p>
-The decision of the Court of Appeals is landmark because it
-establishes that a program under the GNU GPL must be distributed with its
-source code [7]. This obligation is the legal heart of copyleft
-licenses [8], since the user needs the source code to improve what
-he received and pass it on in turn. This obligation is at last
-recognized in a court of law. Even more remarkable is the fact that the author
-of VNC was not asked to take part in the lawsuit. This removes the
-common misconception that, in France, only the author of Free Software
-may assert his rights. As AFPA obtained the VNC source code from Edu4,
-each user of Free Software may send the same request to his supplier.
-</p>
-
-<p>
-The road to go is still long before the rights and obligations of Free 
Software licenses are respected.
-For instance, it is currently impossible to
-get the source code of most electronic equipment containing Free
-Software sold in supermarkets. To connect to the Internet, millions of
-households have also received boxes using Free Software without
-being properly notified. But there is now hope that this ruling will raise
-awareness: first amongst violators, who will work without further
-delay towards compliance with their obligations to users; also
-amongst users who will demand, through legal means if required, that
-their rights be respected; and finally, amongst employees of
-violating companies who will ask their decision-makers that
-priority be given to legal compliance.
-</p>
-
-    <p><em>References</em></p>
-
-<p>
-[1] - <a
-href="http://fsffrance.org/news/arret-ca-paris-16.09.2009.pdf";>Judgement,
-September 16th 2009, Court of Appeals of Paris, Pole 5 Section 10, RG n
-04/24298</a> [...] the society EDU 4 didn't transmit to AFPA the
-source code of the VNC software that it had modified [...] that
-therefore, it is in vain that the company EDU4 alleges that AFPA had
-received a conforming product [...] it is clear from all of these
-elements that EDU 4 violated its contractual obligations by delivering
-in December 2001, when compliance was assessed, a product [...] that
-does not meet the terms of the GNU GPL because EDU4 had totally
-deleted the original VNC copyright [...] replacing it with its own and
-deleted the text of the license.
-</p>
-
-<p>
-[2] - <a href="http://www.edu4.com/";>Edu4</a>
-</p>
-
-<p>
-[3] - <a
-href="http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Network_Computing";>VNC</a>
-Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is a free software program to connect to a
-remote computer. It allows users to transmit keystrokes and mouse clicks
-from one computer to another via a computer network.
-</p>
-
-<p>
-[4] - <a
-href="http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_pour_la_formation_professionnelle_des_adultes";>AFPA</a>
-</p>
-
-<p>
-[5] - <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt";>GNU GPL License</a>
-</p>
-
-<p>
-[6] - <a href="http://www.fsffrance.org/";>http://www.fsffrance.org/</a>
-
-</p>
-
-<p>
-[7] - <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt";>Corresponding
-Source</a> The "Corresponding Source" for a work in object code form
-means all
-the source code needed to generate, install, and (for an executable
-work) run the object code and to modify the work, including scripts to
-control those activities.  However, it does not include the work's
-System Libraries, or general-purpose tools or generally available free
-programs which are used unmodified in performing those activities but
-which are not part of the work.  For example, Corresponding Source
-includes interface definition files associated with source files for
-the work, and the source code for shared libraries and dynamically
-linked subprograms that the work is specifically designed to require,
-such as by intimate data communication or control flow between those
-subprograms and other parts of the work.
-</p>
-
-<p>
-[8] - <a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/";>Copyleft</a> Copyleft is
-a general method for making a program or other work free, and
-requiring all modified and extended versions of the program to be free
-as well.
-</p>
+ ###