German router maker is latest company to inadvertently clarify the LGPL license (opens in new tab)

(arstechnica.com)

64 pointstapper1y ago7 comments

7 comments

Aren't firmwares for Fritzboxes provided by the Freetz-NG project?

https://freetz-ng.github.io/freetz-ng/FIRMWARES.html

The link shows a list of firmwares. The actual sources are at https://github.com/Freetz-NG/freetz-ng - but it's not the original FritzBox firmware sources:

> Freetz is a toolbox for developers and experienced users to build a modified firmware based on the original firmware for the DSL/LAN/WLAN/VoIP-Routers AVM Fritz!Box and T-Com Speedport (identical hardware) and to transfer this firmware to the device. There are many extension packages available, along with options to remove unwanted functionality from the original firmware.

hulitu1y ago

No. Fritzbox is proprietary.

jcarrano1y ago

I understand this is just the last instance of a series of (L)GPL violation on the part of AVM. The irony is that with each lost case, AVM strengthens the reputation of the Germany legal system in copyleft cases.

ksec1y ago

>"The favorable result of this lawsuit exemplifies the power of copyleft—granting users the freedom to modify, repair, and secure the software on their own devices,"

I am not entirely sure that is what LGPL is about. Unless the router was specifically sold as Open Source. I thought the whole reason for LGPL is that you could use it with other proprietary code?

rincebrain1y ago

In particular, (L)GPL3 require that you be able to reproduce the binaries that you were given, more or less - the anti-TiVo clauses.

The article suggests that AVM provided some code but not the build tooling or scripts needed to produce a useful firmware image out of them, or documentation around various opaque variables required for the build, and since they're required to do that, here we are.

solarkraft1y ago

It’s a bummer that AVM, while being actually very techie-friendly, is a bit weird about its firmware.

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