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Libogc (Wii homebrew library) discovered to contain code stolen from RTEMS

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Re: Libogc (Wii homebrew library) discovered to contain code stolen from RTEMS

#31

Post by somat »

deng wrote: post #11

How extremely weird. Why didn't they just use RTEMS openly? Was it for clout or did they want to circumvent the GPLv2? I can't imagine the Wii Homebrew scene being commercially significant that it would matter.

What was the nature of the stolen(infringed really) code? Because a naive first glance show that they were distributing source code from a project that requires that you distribute source code.... shrugs, what's the problem here?

So was it removing license comments from the files?

Re: Libogc (Wii homebrew library) discovered to contain code stolen from RTEMS

#32

Post by [deleted] »

jillyboel wrote: post #27

Since y'all decided to flag my other comment I'll rephrase: Can someone explain what harm is being done by an open source non-commercial project "stealing" code? Who is actually hurt by this, and how? Let's ignore for the moment nothing was actually stolen since the original authors still have their copies.

[deleted]

Re: Libogc (Wii homebrew library) discovered to contain code stolen from RTEMS

#35

Post by inamberclad »

mubou wrote: post #7

Is RTEMS an active project? They should file a copyright complaint and have the libogc repo taken down if this is true. If it were me, I'd lawyer up and throw the book at them. LibOGC accepts donations via Patreon, which means -- if the allegations are true -- they're profiting off stolen code. RTEMS could and should sue for damages. This isn't the first time I've seen an open source project stolen by someone trying…

RTEMS is under active development and is running around the solar system right now :)

Re: Libogc (Wii homebrew library) discovered to contain code stolen from RTEMS

#37

Post by OrvalWintermute »

mubou wrote: post #13
arghwhat wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being active doesn't matter, the copyright holders still hold the copyright. How much they profit off the stolen portion is also questionable, and open source licenses weren't meant to extort money but to grant us rights to the code. What they should do is add attributions and fix their licensing (libogc needs to be GPLv2), or remove the code. Willingly, yesterday.

I was thinking more "is it possible to contact them." When I googled RTEMS I found that it's originally an OS for missile systems from 1993 O_o But I disagree. It's not extorting money to sue someone who stole your code and deliberately removed your copyright notices. The open source license only gives you the right to use the work for commercial purposes AS LONG AS you comply with the terms of the license. If you do…

RTEMS is the most widely used RTOS for Science space, and it is used in medical devices also.

Re: Libogc (Wii homebrew library) discovered to contain code stolen from RTEMS

#38

Post by [deleted] »

jchw wrote: post #29
jillyboel wrote: post #27

Since y'all decided to flag my other comment I'll rephrase: Can someone explain what harm is being done by an open source non-commercial project "stealing" code? Who is actually hurt by this, and how? Let's ignore for the moment nothing was actually stolen since the original authors still have their copies.

Call it what you want, but it's just disrespectful and unnecessary. I'm sure we've all fucked up somewhere and didn't attribute something correctly, but I feel like once it's been brought to your attention, it's just silly to not at least acknowledge it (especially if people are paying you to work on it). In this case, it's a somewhat serious licensing issue even if it is unlikely to lead to any actual legal action.…

[deleted]

Re: Libogc (Wii homebrew library) discovered to contain code stolen from RTEMS

#39

Post by p_ing »

inamberclad wrote: post #35
mubou wrote: post #7

Is RTEMS an active project? They should file a copyright complaint and have the libogc repo taken down if this is true. If it were me, I'd lawyer up and throw the book at them. LibOGC accepts donations via Patreon, which means -- if the allegations are true -- they're profiting off stolen code. RTEMS could and should sue for damages. This isn't the first time I've seen an open source project stolen by someone trying…

RTEMS is under active development and is running around the solar system right now :)

Wow! What an achievement for those devs.

https://www.rtems.org/applications/

Re: Libogc (Wii homebrew library) discovered to contain code stolen from RTEMS

#40

Post by 1970-01-01 »

jillyboel wrote: post #27

Since y'all decided to flag my other comment I'll rephrase: Can someone explain what harm is being done by an open source non-commercial project "stealing" code? Who is actually hurt by this, and how? Let's ignore for the moment nothing was actually stolen since the original authors still have their copies.

You have a great point. I'm finding it hard to determine that actual harm has occurred here. The problem can be corrected, and the hbc project can still meet the requirements and spirit of open source. But neither fail0verflow nor libogc seem to care about any of this, and instead everything was frozen. You don't need permission to use open source code.. So there appears to be two double standards occurring at once. This story is weird.

>The current developers of libogc are not interested in tracking this issue, finding a solution, nor informing the community of the problematic copyright status of the project. When we filed an issue about it, they immediately closed it, replied with verbal abuse, and then completely deleted it from public view.

>For this reason, we consider it impossible to legally and legitimately compile this software at this point, and cannot encourage any further development.

>fail0verflow.com: "when success just isn't an option"

>https://github.com/atgreen/RTEMS?tab=License-1-ov-file

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