Preston Maness ☭Good news, everyone! There's now a path for enforcing the GPL even if you're not the explicit copyright holder!
https://sfconservancy.org/news/2025/jan/09/avm-copyleft-lawsuit-resolved-with-install/
The below quote is from an email I received, not in the press release above, but is extremely good news:
>This successful lawsuit confirms that anyone can enforce their copyleft rights; copyright holders don’t shoulder the burden alone! Until now, the promise of copyleft has been empty for many people. I have dedicated myself to changing that because users deserve the right to modify and reinstall the software on their devices. Manufacturers are powerful, and when they violate copyleft, most users have little recourse and limited options. **But this case opens the doors for everyone** to pursue the rights copyleft promises — through their own efforts. **We are on the cusp of a future where people can freely modify and adapt their devices to do what they want, either by themselves, or with the help of a friend or contractor**. Your donations keep this trajectory going. I hope that excites you as much as it excites me!
SFC-funded lawsuit gets software repair and reinstall for users of AVM routers
Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) today announces the conclusion of a lawsuit that we funded and supported in Germany. (As is typical with German cases, SFC was unable to give public updates during the case.) The defendant, Berlin-based AVM, ultimately delivered the necessary information to reinstall modified software on their device. Delivery of this information resolved the lawsuit. The plaintiff was Sebastian Steck, who received a grant from SFC to pursue this work. Steck purchased an AVM router in May 2021 and quickly found that the source code candidate which AVM sent him could not be compiled and reinstalled onto his router. AVM, the largest home router manufacturer in Germany, refused to correct its source code candidate. Steck sued AVM in a Berlin court in July 2023.