FSFE Seeks to Protect Licenses from Bankruptcy
Free Software licenses could face legal challenges in some European jurisdictions.
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is working to protect Free Software licenses from bankruptcy. In a statement released this week, the FSFE said, “It is not entirely clear what can happen to the Free Software licenses that were granted by rights holders either before or after they went bankrupt. This lack of clear rules could greatly endanger functioning of the Free Software, which depends on the contributions from numerous rights holders.”
According to the statement, when the companies or authors that license Free Software enter bankruptcy, there is a risk that granted Free Software licenses will face legal challenges in some jurisdictions, and the FSFE is currently working to prevent this situation in Germany.
The FSFE website states that, some time ago, the German Ministry of Justice published an initiative to improve the regulation of licenses during the insolvency proceedings. So, the Institute for Legal Questions on Free and Open Source Software (ifrOSS), supported by FSFE, prepared a suggestion of the Free Software clause that “ensures that Free Software licensing model would not be negatively affected by a bankruptcy of a licensing rights holder.” Under the clause, any offer to grant Free Software license made before the licensor’s bankruptcy can be accepted by anyone even after bankruptcy proceedings have started.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Juno Tab 3 Launches with Ubuntu 24.04
Anyone looking for a full-blown Linux tablet need look no further. Juno has released the Tab 3.
-
New KDE Slimbook Plasma Available for Preorder
Powered by an AMD Ryzen CPU, the latest KDE Slimbook laptop is powerful enough for local AI tasks.
-
Rhino Linux Announces Latest "Quick Update"
If you prefer your Linux distribution to be of the rolling type, Rhino Linux delivers a beautiful and reliable experience.
-
Plasma Desktop Will Soon Ask for Donations
The next iteration of Plasma has reached the soft feature freeze for the 6.2 version and includes a feature that could be divisive.
-
Linux Market Share Hits New High
For the first time, the Linux market share has reached a new high for desktops, and the trend looks like it will continue.
-
LibreOffice 24.8 Delivers New Features
LibreOffice is often considered the de facto standard office suite for the Linux operating system.
-
Deepin 23 Offers Wayland Support and New AI Tool
Deepin has been considered one of the most beautiful desktop operating systems for a long time and the arrival of version 23 has bolstered that reputation.
-
CachyOS Adds Support for System76's COSMIC Desktop
The August 2024 release of CachyOS includes support for the COSMIC desktop as well as some important bits for video.
-
Linux Foundation Adopts OMI to Foster Ethical LLMs
The Open Model Initiative hopes to create community LLMs that rival proprietary models but avoid restrictive licensing that limits usage.
-
Ubuntu 24.10 to Include the Latest Linux Kernel
Ubuntu users have grown accustomed to their favorite distribution shipping with a kernel that's not quite as up-to-date as other distros but that changes with 24.10.