Judge Issues Tentative Ruling in Favor of SFC

[Software Freedom Conservancy]

    Judge Issues Tentative Ruling in Favor of SFC
  Hearing today at 10am PST will consider whether Vizio
      has a duty to provide SFC with Source Code

URL: https://sfconservancy.org/news/2025/dec/04/tentative-vizio-ruling-in-favor-of-sfc/

Social media:
  https://social.sfconservancy.org/notice/B0ucF80Nvr0w1pS8Xo
  https://social.sfconservancy.org/notice/B0ucLsKibBeBRwBHGq

Today, in the Superior Court of California in Orange County, Judge Sandy
N. Leal will consider Software Freedom Conservancy's motion for summary
adjudication [0] in the Vizio case. The tentative ruling, issued this
morning [1], rules in favor of SFC that Vizio has a duty to provide SFC
with the complete and corresponding copylefted source code to the TV it
purchased. Tentative rulings are not final; they are issued by the court
to indicate how the judge is leaning on the issue, so that oral
arguments at the hearing are most effective. The hearing on this issue
will take place today, at 10am Pacific time. Information on how to
attend is below.

The tentative ruling grants SFC's motion on the issue that a direct
contract was made between SFC and Vizio when SFC's systems
administrator, Paul Visscher, requested the source code to a TV that SFC
has purchased. This contract obligated Vizio to provide SFC the complete
and corresponding source code. Other alternative grounds for this duty
arising were also raised by SFC in its filing seeking to recognize SFC
as a third-party beneficiary. These were tentatively rejected by the
court, primarily on procedural grounds.

Today lawyers for Vizio and SFC will argue the motion before the judge.
Spectators can attend in person at 700 W Civic Center Dr, Santa Ana, CA
92701 or virtually via "Zoom for Government", which is accessible by
browser [2]. Zoom for Government has proprietary terms, but those terms
are generally less-onerous than standard Zoom. Also note that virtual
attendees are generally required by Judge Leal to turn on their cameras
initially to identify themselves to attend. The hearing will start at
10:00 am Pacific time but there are likely other cases that will be
heard before SFC's. In the tentative ruling, SFC's case is listed as
number 11.

[0] https://sfconservancy.org/news/2025/jul/10/sfc-updates-motion-for-summary-adjudication-vizio/
[1] https://www.occourts.org/sites/default/files/oc/default/tentative-rulings/slealrulings.pdf
[2] https://occourtsapp.occourts.org/aci/checkin-results?dept=C33