
Suspending Patrick McHardy as coreteam member - punctilio
https://marc.info/?l=netfilter-devel&m=146887464512702
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JoshTriplett
Closely related: [https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2016/jul/19/patrick-
mchardy-g...](https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2016/jul/19/patrick-mchardy-gpl-
enforcement/)

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onli
Some context: Germany has a very special, unfriendly system called
Abmahnungen. Basically, whenever you see someone violating a right, you can
partner with a lawyer and send them a bill. That's the system with which in
Germany the anti-copying industry and its lawyers are using file-sharing to
make money.

Given the hints in the announcement and the linked explanation from
sfconservancy.org, together with [http://www.ferner-
alsdorf.de/rechtsanwalt/it-recht/urheberre...](http://www.ferner-
alsdorf.de/rechtsanwalt/it-recht/urheberrecht/abmahnung-gpl-verstoss-linux-
firmware-netfilter-initrd-harald-welte-jbb-rechtsanwaelte/10883/), what seems
to have happened here is that Mchardy used that system to target distributors
of linux systems to make money. If, as in the lawyer blog described, making
the source code available online is not enough and you need some written
offer, basically all linux vendors can be targeted from a right-holder. They'd
have to cease the "violation", pay lawyer costs (normally inflated to make a
profit) and often be susceptible to pay for damage as if they had no open
source licence at all to distribute Linux. This might be very expensive, and
even defending against overly broad claims will be expensive.

Uncertainty like this would be a great danger for linux distribution in that
country. But note that I have no clear image of what really happened, I'm just
combining some pieces. Still, given the danger of that broken juridical
system, if someone is active in that space and even only not willing to
clearly communicate his methods and goals, to block him is the least these
organizations should do.

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hoodoof
This should be explicity explained or taken off the front page. Flagging.

~~~
onli
It should be clearer now with the comments in this thread. It is quite
important and the news itself should definitely be on the frontpage.

~~~
hoodoof
Too late, it made no sense without context and it's gone.

