SFLC hammers GPL violators  December 14, 2009 12:30 PM EST
Almost everyone uses Linux, thanks to its growing popularity in
consumer electronics in everything from TVs to DVR (digital
video recorders) to DVD recorders to you name it. Some
companies, however, think that they can use Linux and open-
source software for their products without releasing the source
code or, in some cases, paying the creators. Wrong. The SFLC
(Software Freedom Law Center) is lowering the boom on more than
a dozen companies including Best Buy, Samsung, Westinghouse and
JVC, all which have violated the GPL (GNU General Public
License).  Bad news, guys: you can't get away with it. The SFLC
announced that they were suing these companies because they had
ripped off BusyBox, a popular collection of Linux/Unix utilities
that is known as the "Swiss Army Knife" for embedded Linux. To
be exact, these companies have been accused of using BusyBox
illegally in such devices as "Best Buy's Insignia Blu Ray DVD
Player, Samsung HDTVs, Westinghouse's