[Scummvm-devel] EScummVM: release the source code. Now.

[Max Horn]

Dear Andreas Karlsson,


hereby we, the ScummVM team, one last time formally demand that you 
comply to our source code license (the GPL) and release the source code 
to your product (EScummVM, available as binary only from 
http://dreo.org/p800/escummvm/). EScummVM is (as is obvious and you 
admit yourself) derived from our product ScummVM (http://scummvm.org), 
which is licensed under the GPL. By the terms of the GPL, you are 
required to release the source of any modifications you make to our 
program if you release a binary of said modifications. On your website, 
there is an EScummVM binary, but no source code for it. Thus, you are 
in violation of the GPL.

We have twice in the past requested that you change this. First on 
2003-07-30 
<http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_id=5684271>. You 
replied and promised to release the source code, after some cleanup 
<http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_id=5691008>. We 
accepted that. When nothing happened, we mailed you again, on 
2003-09-29 
<http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_id=6158816>. You 
did not reply to this email at all.

This situation is unacceptable. We hereby make a third and last attempt 
to settle this in peace. We give you three days (till the night from 
Wednesday, 17. Dec to Thursday, 18. Dec) to react to this email by 
releasing the source code, no matter what state it may be in. Should 
there be prohibitive reasons which make it absolutely impossible for 
you to release the source in this time frame, contact us immediately so 
that we can give you some more time.

If you fail to comply to our license a third time, we will have to take 
steps against this abuse of our work, no matter whether we like this or 
not. Steps would initially include informing major news sites (like 
Slashdot) about your violation of the GPL as well as a news item on our 
website and on SF.net. In addition we may then contact the FSF (Free 
Software Foundation, http://www.fsf.org) as well as your ISP, informing 
them about the situation.

I am extremely sad that it has to come to this. I am not happy to have 
to threaten you. However, we see no other way to protect our rights, 
since you have not shown any reaction in reply to our friendly and 
patient earlier attempts to get you to respect our hard work.


Regards,

Max Horn
ScummVM Project Lead
on behalf of the ScummVM Team