FiOS routers at center of latest GPL lawsuit
The Software Freedom Law Center has sued Verizon on behalf of the developers of BusyBox, saying the routers for its high-speed service infringe on the General Public License.
UPDATED The group is asking for an injunction preventing the sale of the Actiontec MI424WR wireless router, as well as unspecified damages and court costs.
BusyBox is a set of utilities that are included in embedded systems using the UNIX operating system. Since these services fall under the GPLv2, there are certain policies which licensees are required to follow.
One of these is the requirement that any applications based on GPL software must make their source code available. Like the MPAA case reported earlier this week, Verizon has failed to make this available.
SFLC says that it had attempted to contact Verizon to avoid the suit, but the communications company failed to respond. Thus the group filed suit, its fourth on BusyBox alone.
Other companies that have been the target of the SFLC over the utility suite include Monsoon Multimedia, High-Gain Antennas, and Xterasys Corporation. Monsoon settled out of court in October of this year.
"Because Verizon chose not to respond to our concerns, we had no choice but to file a lawsuit to ensure that they comply with the GPL," SFLC legal director Dan Ravicher said in a statement.
Verizon told BetaNews late Friday that it had not yet seen the suit, and was unable to comment on its merits.