BusyBox Alleges GPL Infringement in Suit Against Verizon

Did the telecom giant illegally distribute open source software to its FiOS customers? The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), a group of lawyers specializing on protecting open-source and free software, thinks so.

The SFLC has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Verizon Communications, Inc. in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The suit was filed on behalf of its clients, two principal developers of BusyBox, Eric Andersen and Rob Landley.

BusyBox is a lightweight set of standard Unix utilities commonly used in embedded systems and is open source software licensed under GPL (General Public Licence) version 2. Verizon is the provider of a fiber-optic Internet and television service called FiOS. Verizon distributes Actiontec MI424WR wireless routers that contain BusyBox to its FiOS customers.

BusyBox is a software application which provides many standard Unix tools, much like the larger (but more capable) GNU Core Utilities. BusyBox is designed to be a small executable for use with Linux, which makes it ideal for special purpose Linux distributions and embedded devices. It has been called "The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux".

Released under the GNU General Public License, version 2 [1], BusyBox is free software.

In late 2007, BusyBox also came to prominence for actively prosecuting alleged violations of its copyright under GPL in courts of law.

Wikipedia

Under the terms of the GPL, Verizon is obligated to provide the source code of BusyBox to recipients of the device. The lawsuit alleges violation of the GNU GPL because Verizon continues to distribute BusyBox illegally without source code, despite having been contacted by SFLC.

The complaint requests that an injunction be issued against Verizon and that damages and litigation costs be awarded to the plaintiffs.

According to Dan Ravicher, Legal Director of SFLC, "Our clients licensed BusyBox under the GPL to ensure that all users of the program can access and modify its source code. 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."

The SFLC also contacted ActionTec, which did respond. Ravicher noted, “We are in…productive discussions with them about their issues. This is why we purposely did not name them as a defendant in the lawsuit.” In the meantime, David Fish, Verizon spokesman, said that the telecommunications company is aware of the lawsuit. He said, “This matter is being dealt with. We’ve referred it to the responsible third-party vendor” – referring to ActionTec. But according to Ravicher, both ActionTec and Verizon have to meet the requirements of GPL as distributors of BusyBox.

This is the fourth GPL enforcement lawsuit filed by SFLC on behalf of BusyBox. Defendants in previous cases have included Monsoon Multimedia, High Gain Antennas, and Xterasys Corporation. The case against Monsoon Multimedia was settled out of court in October, with Monsoon agreeing to remedy its prior violation, ensure future compliance, and financially compensate the plaintiffs.

According to a recent blog, open-source software attracts companies who want to expand their services or get their new offerings to market quickly – in part because it’s free. But there’ a catch – a software license is usually attached to such open-source software (the GPL). Verizon is just the latest in a string of companies to overlook this.