VMware Linux lawsuit moves closer to a resolution

guest · Mar 6, 2019

VMware Linux lawsuit moves closer to a resolution
March 6, 2019
https://www.zdnet.com/article/vmware-linux-lawsuit-moves-closer-to-a-resolution/

VMware has rather mysteriously announced: "VMware is pleased with the Feb. 28, 2019 decision of the German appellate court in Hamburg to dismiss Mr. Hellwig's appeal and let stand the regional court's decision to dismiss Mr. Hellwig's lawsuit. "
WHAT LAWSUIT? WHO IS MR. HELLWIG?
The short version: VMware stood accused of illegally using Linux code in its flagship VMware ESX bare-metal virtual machine (VM) hypervisor.

The story began in August 2006, when prominent Linux developer Christopher Helwig replied to a VMware engineer's request for help on the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML). "Until you stop violating our copyrights with the VMWare ESXsupport nothing is going to be supported. [...]"
Helwig later added, "VMware uses a badly hacked 2.4 kernel with a big binary blob hooked into it, giving a derived work of the Linux kernel that's not legally redistributable."
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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
In an e-mail interview, Karen Sandler, attorney and the Conservancy's executive director, wrote, "We strongly believe that litigation is necessary against willful GPL violators, particularly in cases like VMware where this is strong community consensus that their behavior is wrong. [...]"

So, while VMware hopes "that this litigation is now behind us," the case may not be over yet. Eventually, regardless of what happens in the court, the possibly offending code will no longer be within VMware's current products.
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PrinceYann · Mar 8, 2019

Freedom won?

guest · Apr 2, 2019

Linux developer abandons VMware lawsuit
April 2, 2019
https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-developer-abandons-vmware-lawsuit/

So, Helwig has decided "not to lodge a further appeal against the judgment of the Hamburg Higher Regional Court."

He's doing this for several reasons. Not least of these is that "VMware has announced to discontinue the use of Linux code in their hypervisor in the future. Removal of the Linux code from VMware's proprietary kernel was what both I and Conservancy asked for many times; when VMware takes this action, they will finally comply with the GPL."

The case has also cost Helwig much time and energy. He's ready to move on.
That said, the Conservancy pointed out, "While we are disappointed that the courts did not take the opportunity to deliver a clear pro-GPL precedent, the implications of the decision are limited. This certainly could proceed differently with different presentation of plaintiffs or in another jurisdiction."
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