McAffee: "We face risks" Over Open Source Software in Our Products
If my previous post on 12/22/07 Open Source Violation Could Get You Sued did not spark your curiosity, well then maybe this one will make you sit up and take notice. McAffee, the company use to warning their customers about potential problems in their customer’s own software, now has issued a cautionary note to its investors about possible risks (that means litigation) as a result of Open Source software in its own products. Jason Haislmeir deftly explains this issue in his article McAffee Issues Risk Factor Over Open Source Licenses.
It appears that the risk stems from the 2nd version of the General Public License (“GPL”) as yet untested by the courts. Since the GPL imposes an obligation on its users of Open Source to make such software available at no additional charge and also make available software that relates or interacts with the Open Source software, it is easy to see that McAffee’s concern is genuine. Haislmeir goes on to describe how others such as Tivo and Microsoft have encountered GPL license issues and have issued similar warnings to their investors.
Until these issues on use of Open Source software and what obligations attach to the users of related products containing such Open Source software are settled, it would be a very prudent approach for companies to ramp up their compliance programs. At the very least this could help identify a possible violation and allow the company an opportunity to formulate a response or make any necessary adjustments to avoid the aforementioned risks.
