Possible GPL violation by PQI

["Ryan Frederick Baumann" <rfbaum2@uky.edu>]

Precise name of the product: PQI mPack P800

The firmware uses a modified version of the Sigma Designs uClinux 2.4.17-uc0 kernel (available here:
http://www.uclinux.org/pub/uClinux/ports/arm/EM8500/). In my previous encounters with similar devices, they have kept the portions of code that dealt with the EM85XX chipset in a seperate binary module loaded at run-time (this is the case with my Bravo D1). This is not the case with this firmware. All the EM85XX-specific modifications are embedded directly into the linux.bin kernel image, with no source available to reproduce the kernel. I contacted PQI a week ago through their "Contact Engineer" web form, but have received no response.

How the license was violated:

-copyright notice of the copyright holder is not preserved
-source code is completely missing, requests for source code ignored
-no written offer for source or copy of the license included

Firmware can be downloaded here:
http://www.pqi.com.tw/download.asp?filetype=3D5

The firmware is a modified romfs filesystem (it has a nonstandard header that you must strip before being able to use it with normal romfs tools).

-Ryan Baumann

(My apologies if this reaches the list multiple times, I tried sending this message from my GMail account but it never appeared on the list)

-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/