Microsoft acknowledges own GPL infringement
Even Microsoft can’t resist new technology. In order to be up with the times, they have added a nice tool for download to create a USB version. Unfortunately this was done without paying attention to the GPLv2.
The possible GPL violating Microsoft tool WUDT was first called into question by withinwindows.com. According to this site, Windows 7 USB/DVD tool from the ESD version of Windows 7 which can be used to create a bootable USB medium or a DVD contains code which does not originate from Microsoft and therefore is covered by the GPL.
After this information began to circulate, Microsoft removed the freely available software from the website and announced they would look into the matter. The community manager Peter Galli of the Microsoft facilitated Open Source site port25 confirmed that an infringement of the GPL was indeed the matter at hand:
"After looking at the code in question, we are now able to confirm this was indeed the case, although it was not intentional on our part. While we had contracted with a third party to create the tool, we share responsibility as we did not catch it as part of our code review process. We have furthermore conducted a review of other code provided through the Microsoft Store and this was the only incident of this sort we could find."
Allegedly, the software did not come from Microsoft and Microsoft did not pay close enough attention while reviewing the code. This slip provided the motivation for the company to examine further software for possible GPL infringement and upon doing so established that no other software was the cause of such a breach.
In order to comply with the terms of the GPL, Microsoft now needs to license the tool under the GPL. The source code of the tool is to be released next week.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.
-
Linux Kernel 6.14 Released
The latest Linux kernel has arrived with extra Rust support and more.
-
EndeavorOS Mercury Neo Available
A new release from the EndeavorOS team ships with Plasma 6.3 and other goodies.
-
Fedora 42 Beta Has Arrived
The Fedora Project has announced the availability of the first beta release for version 42 of the open-source distribution.
-
Dash to Panel Maintainer Quits
Charles Gagnon has stepped away as maintainer of the popular Dash to Panel Gnome extension.
-
CIQ Releases Security-Hardened Version of Rocky Linux
If you're looking for an enterprise-grade Linux distribution that is hardened for business use, there's a new version of Rocky Linux that's sure to make you and your company happy.
-
Gnome’s Dash to Panel Extension Gets a Massive Update
If you're a fan of the Gnome Dash to Panel extension, you'll be thrilled to hear that a new version has been released with a dock mode.
-
Blender App Makes it to the Big Screen
The animated film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards held on March 2, 2025 and Blender was a part of it.
-
Linux Mint Retools the Cinnamon App Launcher
The developers of Linux Mint are working on an improved Cinnamon App Launcher with a better, more accessible UI.
-
New Linux Tool for Security Issues
Seal Security is launching a new solution to automate fixing Linux vulnerabilities.