Where can free software projects get legal assistance and/or guidance regarding (A)GPL enforcement?

12 replies [Last post]
chaosmonk

I am a member!

I am a translator!

Offline
Joined: 07/07/2017

A site called altCensored[1] is violating the AGPL by using a modified version of Invidious without publishing the source code for their changes. See.[2] They deny being based on Invidious, but it is obvious. The frontend is nearly identical with similarly structured code and assets like icons copied verbatim. It seems unlikely that they will agree to publish their modifications without a credible threat of legal action. The only resource I am aware of for help with GPL enforcement is the Software Freedom Conservancy, which provides legal assistance for member projects. I proposed that Invidious apply to become a member project, but I wonder if there are other resources or guides on what to do in this situation.

[1] https://www.altcensored.com

chaosmonk

I am a member!

I am a translator!

Offline
Joined: 07/07/2017

Sorry, forgot the second link:

[2] https://github.com/iv-org/invidious/issues/1166

eric23
Offline
Joined: 06/30/2017

There was gpl-violations.org which focused on GPL v2 software. I can't seem to find their mailing lists anymore.

... Did anyone notice their site has an image of gnu with cross-hairs over it. Not sure how that represents saving GNU.

Magic Banana

I am a member!

I am a translator!

Offline
Joined: 07/24/2010

The FSF can only enforce the license on works to which we hold the copyright, but we can still help bring about compliance even when the copyright lies elsewhere. If you need help with enforcement, please don’t hesitate to contact us at name at domain.
https://www.fsf.org/licensing/

jxself
Offline
Joined: 09/13/2010

Typically only the copyright holder can enforce the license so that's the first step: Getting them involved. They may want to look into http://softwarefreedom.org/about/contact/

chaosmonk

I am a member!

I am a translator!

Offline
Joined: 07/07/2017

Hm. Omarroth is the creater of Invidious who is the rights holder for most of the code, but given that he has announced[1] his intention to step away from Invidious development and from "open source", he may be reluctant to get involved in this.

There are a few other contributors who have contributed a non-negligible amount of code, though none nearly as much as omarroth.[2] Since they did not sign a CLA, they are still the rights holders for the code they wrote. Could one or more of them take on the role of enforcement?

[1] https://omar.yt/posts/stepping-away-from-open-source

[2] https://github.com/iv-org/invidious/graphs/contributors

jxself
Offline
Joined: 09/13/2010

"Could one or more of them take on the role of enforcement?"

Sure.

Beko
Offline
Joined: 08/31/2019

http://web.archive.org/web/20191101000000*/https://altcensored.com

When did Omarroth say that he was stepping down? This website is hella recent, maybe they are aware that Omar might not care anymore?

chaosmonk

I am a member!

I am a translator!

Offline
Joined: 07/07/2017

His announcment was August 1, 2020, so altcensored predates that announcement by more than a year.

PublicLewdness
Offline
Joined: 03/15/2020

What about the Software Freedom Conservancy ? They have a section on their site to report GPL violations via email to name at domain

If the project isn't under their umbrella they may still be able to give some advice.

andyprough
Offline
Joined: 02/12/2015

Just to clarify, omarroth jumped into the discussion and stated that altcensored is not an invidio.us fork: https://gitlab.com/altCensored.com/altcensored

However, I agree with chaosmonk that they were obviously borrowing some code.

altcensored put up their source code on gitlab after chaosmonk raised the issue on the invidio.us github page: https://gitlab.com/altCensored.com/altcensored

So, I guess the process has worked itself out. They needed to make their source code available, chaosmonk raised the issue in a place where the original license holder would be aware, and altcensored appears to have gotten the message and come into compliance, with the original license holder in agreement. Case closed?

chaosmonk

I am a member!

I am a translator!

Offline
Joined: 07/07/2017

> Just to clarify, omarroth jumped into the discussion and stated that altcensored is not an invidio.us fork: https://gitlab.com/altCensored.com/altcensored

> However, I agree with chaosmonk that they were obviously borrowing some code.

Thanks, I had meant to post an update to this thread but forgot. Yes, it turns out that although altCensored uses some of Invidious's stylesheets, it has its own backend, so it is not a complete Invidious fork, but because they combined their code with some of Invidious's they still needed to comply with the AGPL.

> altcensored put up their source code on gitlab after chaosmonk raised the issue on the invidio.us github page

I wasn't the one who raised the issue initially, but it does seem likely that they published their source code in response to the Github issue, to which someone directed their attention on Twitter.

> Case closed?

Yeah, now that they have published their source code under the AGPL I see no problem.

PsychicEcho
Offline
Joined: 04/05/2020