VoIP company Skype found guilty of violating GNU General Public License

Skype revolutionized the Voice over IP market. The developers made big bucks too as they managed to sell the company to the e commerce giant eBay.

The company has now been found guilty of violating the GNU General Public License (GPL) by a Munich, Germany regional court.

This decision by the courts can now set a precedent on how companies approach GPL compliance in the future.

The courts ruled that Skype had violated the GPL by the way it distributed a voice over IP (VoIP) handset, the SMCWSKP100 in the market. The handset incorporates the GPL-covered Linux kernel in its firmware.

The phone device is being manufactured by SMC but the court said in the ruling that Skype was liable to fulfill the conditions of the GPL because it sold the phone on its website.

The decision is likely to result in a fine against the company. Skype is also going to be required to adhere to the license and source code distribution requirements of the license.