Software Freedom Conservancy files lawsuit against California TV manufacturer Vizio Inc. for GPL violations

[Software Freedom Conservancy]

URL:

https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/vizio.html

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Software Freedom Conservancy files lawsuit against California TV 
manufacturer Vizio Inc. for GPL violations

Litigation is historic in nature due to its focus on consumer rights, 
filing as third-party beneficiary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

IRVINE, Calif. (Oct. 19, 2021) Software Freedom Conservancy announced 
today it has filed a lawsuit against Vizio Inc. for what it calls 
repeated failures to fulfill even the basic requirements of the General 
Public License (GPL).

The lawsuit alleges that Vizio’s TV products, built on its SmartCast 
system, contain software that Vizio unfairly appropriated from a 
community of developers who intended consumers to have very specific 
rights to modify, improve, share, and reinstall modified versions of the 
software.

The GPL is a copyleft license that ensures end users the freedom to run, 
study, share, and modify the software. Copyleft is a kind of software 
licensing that leverages the restrictions of copyright, but with the 
intent to promote sharing (using copyright licensing to freely use and 
repair software).

Software Freedom Conservancy, a nonprofit organization focused on 
ethical technology, is filing the lawsuit as the purchaser of a product 
which has copylefted code. This approach makes it the first legal case 
that focuses on the rights of individual consumers as third-party 
beneficiaries of the GPL.

“That’s what makes this litigation unique and historic in terms of 
defending consumer rights,” says Karen M. Sandler, the organization’s 
executive director.

According to the lawsuit, a consumer of a product such as this has the 
right to access the source code so that it can be modified, studied, and 
redistributed (under the appropriate license conditions).

“We are asking the court to require Vizio to make good on its 
obligations under copyleft compliance requirements,” says Sandler. She 
explains that in past litigation, the plaintiffs have always been 
copyright holders of the specific GPL code. In this case, Software 
Freedom Conservancy hopes to demonstrate that it's not just the 
copyright holders, but also the receivers of the licensed code who are 
entitled to rights.

The lawsuit suit seeks no monetary damages, but instead seeks access to 
the technical information that the copyleft licenses require Vizio to 
provide to all customers who purchase its TVs (specifically, the 
plaintiff is asking for the technical information via “specific 
performance” rather than “damages”).

“Software Freedom Conservancy is standing up for customers who are 
alienated and exploited by the technology on which they increasingly 
rely,” says Sandler, adding that the lawsuit also aims to help educate 
consumers about their right to repair their devices as well as show 
policy makers that there are mechanisms for corporate accountability 
already in place that can be leveraged through purchasing power and 
collective action.

Copyleft licensing was designed as an ideological alternative to the 
classic corporate software model because it: allows people who receive 
the software to fix their devices, improve them and control them; 
entitles people to curtail surveillance and ads; and helps people 
continue to use their devices for a much longer time (instead of being 
forced to purchase new ones).

“The global supply chain shortages that have affected everything from 
cars to consumer electronics underscore one of the reasons why it is 
important to be able to repair products we already own,” says Sandler. 
“Even without supply chain challenges, the forced obsolescence of 
devices like TVs isn’t in the best interest of the consumer or even the 
planet. This is another aspect of what we mean by ‘ethical technology.’ 
Throwing away a TV because its software is no longer supported by its 
manufacturer is not only wasteful, it has dire environmental 
consequences. Consumers should have more control over this, and they 
would if companies like Vizio played by the rules.“

According to Sandler, the organization first raised the issue of 
non-compliance with the GPL with Vizio in August 2018. After a year of 
diplomatic attempts to work with the company, it was not only still 
refusing to comply, but stopped responding to inquiries altogether as of 
January 2020.

“By July 2021, the TV model that we originally complained was 
non-compliant was discontinued,” says Sandler. “When we purchased new 
models, we found that despite our efforts they still had no source code 
included with the device, nor any offer for source code. People buying 
these models would never know that there was anything special about the 
software in these devices, or that they had any rights whatsoever 
connected with the software on their TVs.”

Software Freedom Conservancy analyzed the TVs and concluded that not 
only was Vizio not providing the source code and technical information 
that copyleft licenses require, Vizio was not even informing its 
customers about copylefted software and the rights it gives them as 
consumers.

ABOUT SOFTWARE FREEDOM CONSERVANCY

Software Freedom Conservancy is a nonprofit organization centered around 
ethical technology. Our mission is to ensure the right to repair, 
improve, and reinstall software. We promote and defend these rights 
through fostering free and open source software (FOSS) projects, driving 
initiatives that actively make technology more inclusive, and advancing 
policy strategies that defend FOSS (such as copyleft). The organization 
is incorporated in New York. For more information, go to 
sfconservancy.org.

More information is available here: https://sfconservancy.org/vizio