Fears grow over 'unworkable' GPL

Industry analysts have welcomed the court injunction against the UK arm of Fortinet for allegedly using Linux in its products illegally.

The case was brought by Harald Welte, a Linux developer who also runs the gpl-violations.org website. He alleges that Fortinet used Linux in its FortiGate and FortiWifi products and tried to conceal the code using cryptography.

James Governor, principle analyst at Red Monk, said: "This will make Microsoft very happy as it adds to fears over the GPL being unworkable.

"If Fortinet has to cease trading that's a good result for the GPL. As for the court case the GPL should be tested in the courts around the world."

The analyst suggested that the status of the GPL will generate a lot of controversy, citing recent announcements from the Open Source Initiative to reform the licensing process for open source, and Sun Microsystems' attack on the GPL.

"Fortinet is actively taking steps to ensure that its products are compliant with GPL requirements," said Fortinet in a statement.

"Fortinet recently became aware of Mr Welte's allegations and has, in good faith, been diligently working with him to resolve this matter outside the German court system. Fortinet is continuing its efforts to expeditiously resolve this matter with Mr Welte."

The Linux GPL allows anyone to use the code but only if they release the full source code of the software using Linux and a copy of the full licence text.