SFC v. Vizio trial starts *tomorrow* - Lemmy.World
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I posted [https://lemmyverse.link/lemmy.world/post/33915876] about this once before, but… The long and short is: * Vizio put a bunch of GPL’d software on their TVs in compiled/binary form only in violation of the terms of the GPL. * the Software Freedom Conservancy is suing Vizio to force them to follow the terms of the GPL and release the source code of said GPL’d software. * The courts seem quite sympathetic to the SFC’s arguments. * And if the SFC wins, we can expect 1) a FOSS Linux distribution for smart TV’s (think OpenWRT but for smart TVs) and 2) moving forward, demands for GPL compliance to consumer electronics manufacturers from regular folks like you and me will have more “teeth” than they did previously, potentially resulting in a proliferation of new FOSS distributions for various consumer electronic devices. I really think this is something to get excited about, and I can’t wait to follow along as more news comes out about the proceedings. Full disclosure, the trial has been delayed at the last minute more than once already, so I suppose there’s a possibility it won’t start tomorrow, but I think this is more “last minute” than any of the last delays have been. So I’m crossing my fingers extra hard. Edit: Damn! Looks like it got delayed again. Now the trial date is listed as “late 2026”. :(

The long and short is:

Vizio put a bunch of GPL’d software on their TVs in compiled/binary form only in violation of the terms of the GPL. the Software Freedom Conservancy is suing Vizio to force them to follow the terms of the GPL and release the source code of said GPL’d software. The courts seem quite sympathetic to the SFC’s arguments. And if the SFC wins, we can expect 1) a FOSS Linux distribution for smart TV’s (think OpenWRT but for smart TVs) and 2) moving forward, demands for GPL compliance to consumer electronics manufacturers from regular folks like you and me will have more “teeth” than they did previously, potentially resulting in a proliferation of new FOSS distributions for various consumer electronic devices.