Cybook Gen3 firmware on Netronix EB-100

[dottedmag]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

My mom always used to tell me, "Two wrongs don't make a right."

BOb

Yes, Bookeen is in big potential trouble: it will either violate the GPL libraries copyright or Mobi copyright. I don't quite know what this can entail - they HAVE to release code they CAN'T release, but seeing the process would be very entertaining

[TadW]

Originally Posted by dottedmag

Yes, Bookeen is in big potential trouble: it will either violate the GPL libraries copyright or Mobi copyright. I don't quite know what this can entail - they HAVE to release code they CAN'T release, but seeing the process would be very entertaining

I am an absolute n00b in this, but does this have to do with the viral nature of GPL? Like, Bookeen is using GPL-code in their book viewer, hence all addition code compiled into the program would also have to be released under GPL?

[mrdini]

Originally Posted by TadW

I am an absolute n00b in this, but does this have to do with the viral nature of GPL? Like, Bookeen is using GPL-code in their book viewer, hence all addition code compiled into the program would also have to be released under GPL?

Pretty much, yes.

[Barcey]

Personally I find that the whole guilty until proven innocent mentality of the Open Source community is very disturbing. Bookeen can be accused of violating the GPL license but they are not guilty until they are proven to be guilty in a court of law and not the court of internet forums.

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by Barcey

Personally I find that the whole guilty until proven innocent mentality of the Open Source community is very disturbing. Bookeen can be accused of violating the GPL license but they are not guilty until they are proven to be guilty in a court of law and not the court of internet forums.

I like your view.

I believe 'intent' has to apply as well. If the intent was to get a Mobipocket-enabled device to market and they operated in-good-faith that they were not violating GPL, then I think they should be cut some slack. At least long enough to decide how to remedy the situation and then implement the remedy.

Derek

[dottedmag]

Originally Posted by Barcey

Personally I find that the whole guilty until proven innocent mentality of the Open Source community is very disturbing. Bookeen can be accused of violating the GPL license but they are not guilty until they are proven to be guilty in a court of law and not the court of internet forums.

Nobody says Bookeen is guilty, it's the court's right to say so.

However, you may easily find that Bookeen violates copyright of many GPL and LGPL-licensed products. That's not mystical mubla-jumbla, that's not something only 10 top-notch experts around the world can confirm, that's the basic and easy fact which every, I repeat, every seasoned Unix sysadmin may confirm.

Just get the Bokeen firmware update, find squishfs image inside, cut it out using dd(1), unpack and run strings(1) on files inside. Myriads of strings will appear, making it evident that Bookeen uses GPL/LGPL licensed code. And I swear Bookeen did not contact the authors and did not get the permission to redistribute their code under the license different from the GPL/LGPL. And product is not accompanied with written GPL license text and offer to get the source code by demand, as license requires.

Bookeen did not try to hide it. Maybe Bookeen devs did not read the licenses, maybe the not even aware such licenses are exist, or maybe they got the code from Netronix. This does not matter.

Only the fact that matters (according to the license) is that Bookeen distributes the firmware that violates rights of many open-source developers, and if anybody sues Bookeen he will certainly win the case. If plaintiff will be cruel enough, this will mean Cybook will have to recall all the devices or release GPL-derived code.

As reverse engineering shows, Mobi code in viewer is also GPL-derived due to inacurracy of Bookeen developers.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Barcey

Personally I find that the whole guilty until proven innocent mentality of the Open Source community is very disturbing. Bookeen can be accused of violating the GPL license but they are not guilty until they are proven to be guilty in a court of law and not the court of internet forums.

Bookeen has told us that the have to distribute source code but they have not done it so they have admitted that they are guilty. It is also trivially true that they are guilty. Recently i checked the laws in Sweden and it is illegal for me to sell my Cybook to somebody else which is a very bad thing. Other people selling the Cybook here might want to know that it might be illegal. And the forum should not be used for illegal stuff... I am also suprised that this forum supports Bookeens selling things which is a copyright infringement.

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by tompe

Bookeen has told us that the have to distribute source code but they have not done it so they have admitted that they are guilty. It is also trivially true that they are guilty. Recently i checked the laws in Sweden and it is illegal for me to sell my Cybook to somebody else which is a very bad thing. Other people selling the Cybook here might want to know that it might be illegal. And the forum should not be used for illegal stuff... I am also suprised that this forum supports Bookeens selling things which is a copyright infringement.

Tompe,

I think you have to understand the difference. They may well be 'in the wrong' - even to such a degree that they *would* (without any chance of defense) be found "guilty" in a court of law, but they are *NOT* "guilty" at this time because no one has taken them to court. (AFAIK, none of the others have been so challenged either.)

So waving around the statement they are "guilty" is not accurate. I think it's clear they've failed to comply with the requirements of GPL - and I still argue that this failing may yet prove to be 'through ignorance' rather than 'by deliberate intent'. Lord knows *I* have a hard time understanding all the fine points of law, IANAL, nor do I play one on TV. I believe that constantly stating that Bookeen (or any other e-book reader manufacturer for that matter) just causes them to dig in and ignore the issue in the hopes it will 'go away'.

Rather, I would like to see a stronger effort made to educate the various companies as to what their obligations are under GPL.

Derek

[Nate the great]

Tompe, didn't you know? Most of us moderators are filthy stinkin' pirates.

Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum...

[tompe]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

I think you have to understand the difference. They may well be 'in the wrong' - even to such a degree that they *would* (without any chance of defense) be found "guilty" in a court of law, but they are *NOT* "guilty" at this time because no one has taken them to court. (AFAIK, none of the others have been so challenged either.)

Please stop removing links to site that you have not shown in court are guilty then. I really do not see the difference here. Nobody has taken the sites to court.

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by tompe

Please stop removing links to site that you have not shown in court are guilty then. I really do not see the difference here. Nobody has taken the sites to court.

Hunh? Since when have I removed links??? I think you have the wrong person.

Derek

[tompe]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

Hunh? Since when have I removed links??? I think you have the wrong person.

Sorry, I did not mean to imply that you had done it. Some administrators here do it often.

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by tompe

Sorry, I did not mean to imply that you had done it. Some administrators here do it often.

Ah. My misunderstanding.

Derek

[delphidb96]

For me, the biggest issue is the ability to buy a 'Secure' Mobipocket ebook, which I can then read on *ANY* of my e-ink devices. Clearly, Bookeen's Boo Reader (on the Cybook Gen3) generates a valid, registerable, PID. What I'm hoping for is the (eventual) ability to place OpenInkpot and FBReader onto a device, have it (FBReader) generate a PID for that device which I can add to my list of registered devices, and read my Mobipocket (or Fictionwise) mobi purchases - without having to do something illegal such as run MobiDeDRM against it.

I also want to be able to apply the same formatting on all ebooks and have the same look-and-feel on all such platforms. I've seen what some ebook publishers call 'mobi' and their formatting sucks. Others do a much better job. I won't name names.

Derek

[Barcey]

All that I can say is that after reading the reading the thread the impression that I took from it is that “we’ve found Bookeen has violated the GPL so we’re going to steal the work that they’ve done and defy them to sue us because we’ll sue them back”. The lesson that Bookeen and other companies will take is not “Gee we better honor the GPL”. It will be that you’re better off dealing with Microsoft, their licensing fees and corporate lawyers then the open source community. It will be sad to see Microsoft win the embedded OS space because they’re easier to deal with.

As always just my opinion.