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The really important thing to consider for Bookeen from a pragmatic standpoint (not a legal or ethical one) is that their e-ink product is known best for its attention to open formats. The sort of person who does have strong feelings on free software and its licensing is exactly the kind of person Bookeen is supposed to be appealing to with the Cybook. So they really should have an interest in clearing up as much about the GPL issue as they can on their end.
Again setting aside legal nitty-gritty, the intent of the GPL is that software authors be able to release free software in a form that stays free. That's why groups like the FSF exist - not for the sake of the GPL specifically, but for the sake of authors who want to allow the public to use their code while still retaining some control over how it's used. Whether the license falls under contract or copyright law (and that actually varies according to jurisdiction, for how software licenses are handled), it still boils down to respecting the code authors' wishes in terms of use, modification, and redistribution of their code.
So here's hoping Bookeen does remedy the omissions in their documentation, and puts a proper amount of pressure on their hardware supplier to clarify its use of GPLed software and comply with the license. If not they'll just wind up alienating a small but passionate market segment for whom their product would otherwise be perfect.
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