Global FOSS-related Judicial Cases
This is the collection of free and open source-related and CC-related cases decided in various jurisdictions, including China, the United States, Germany, France, Spain, etc., arranged by the OpenAtom Foundation. This page is continuously updated, and we appreciate any suggestons you may have!
China
2024 Yinmu(Shanghai) Science and Technology Co., Ltd. v. Shujutang(Beijing) Science and Technology Co.,Ltd., Case No. (2024)京73民终546号 Please refer to original decision in Chinese
CC License commercial ethics unfair competition
2023 Zhejiang Yibang Communication Technology Co.,Ltd., Suzhou Qi'ao Network Technology Co.,Ltd. v. Wangjing Techonology(Suzhou)Co.,Ltd., Case No.（2021）最高法知民终51号 Please refer to original decision in Chinese
violation of GPLv2 right to seek for remedies
2023 Civil Judegement at First Instance on the Dispute over Copyright Infringement of Computer Software regarding Fujian Fengling Chuangjing Techonology Co.,Ltd., Beijing Fengling Chuangjing Technology Co.,Ltd. et al, Case No.（2021）最高法知民终2063号 Please refer to original decision in Chinese
nature of GPLv3 locus standi
2023 Civil Judegement at First Instance on the Dispute over Copyright Infringement of Computer Software regarding Fujian Fengling Chuangjing Techonology Co.,Ltd., Beijing Fengling Chuangjing Technology Co.,Ltd. et al, Case No.（2022）最高法知民终1589号 Please refer to original decision in Chinese
nature of GPLv3 locus standi
2022 Nanjing Weilai Advanced Technology Co.,Ltd. v. Jiangsu Yunqingting Information Technology Co.,Ltd.,et al, Case No.(2021)苏01民初3229号 Please refer to original decision in Chinese
GPL virality
For more details please refer to ：Judicial Digest of Open Source | Introduction to Weilai v. Yunqingting case
2022 Shenzhen Huaerzhangfang Network Technology Co.,Ltd. v. Zhejiang Panxingshuzhi Technology Co.,Ltd.,Zhejiang Panshi Information Technology Co.,Ltd., Case No. (2021)最高法知民终2298号 Please refer to original decision in Chinese
infringement of technical secret
2021 Jining Luohe Network Technology Co.,Ltd. v. Guangzhou Wanyou Network Technology Co.,Ltd., Case No. (2019)粤73知民初207号 Please refer to original decision in Chinese
nature of GPLv3 "viral" effect locus standi
For more details please refer to ：Contransus | English translation of Luohe v. Wanyou Judgement；PrincipOS | Luohe v. Wanyou case
2021 Jining Luohe Network Technology Co.,Ltd. v. Fujian Fenglingchuangjing Technology Co.,Ltd.,Beijing Fenglingchuangjing Technology Co.,Ltd., Case No.(2019)粤03民初3928号 Please refer to original decision in Chinese
nature of GPLv3 locus standi
2019 Beijing Shangliang ShiShang Information Technology Co.,Ltd. v. Buluanmai digital Commerce(Beijing) Co.,Ltd.，Case No. (2019)最高法知民终663号 Please refer to original decision in Chinese
enforceability of GPLv3 “viral” effect
2019 Shuzitiantang（Beijing）Network Technology Co.,Ltd. v. Youzi(Beijing) Mobile Technology Co.,Ltd.， Case No.(2018)京民终471号 Please refer to original decision in Chinese
GPL legally binding
2017 Zhejiang Afanti Digital Commerce Co.,Ltd. v. Tianjin Wangchengtianchuang Technology Co.,Ltd.，Case No. (2017)浙02民终3852号 Please refer to original decision in Chinese
programming by open source language derivative works
2017 Zhejiang Shangbang Technology Co.,Ltd. v. Tianjin Wangchengtianchuang Technology Co.,Ltd.,Case No.（2017）浙10民终1825号
programming by open source language
2017 Beijing Zhongjiaohuineng Information Technology Co.,Ltd. v. Shenzhen Hongdian Technology Co.,Ltd.,Case No.（2016）京03民初7号
product defections hardware devices
2013 Tianjiaowenyun Software(Tianjin) Co.,Ltd. v. Hengsheng Electronic Co.,Ltd.,Case No.（2013）浙杭知终字第95号
Apache license trade secret
The decisions of above cases are available on the Internet.
US
2022 Neo4j, Inc. v. PureThink, LLC, No. 21-16029 (9th Cir. Feb. 18, 2022) Please refer to original decision in English；5:18-cv-07182-EJD (N.D. Cal. Oct. 25, 2023) ，Please refer to original decision in English
AGPLv3 further restrictions unfair competition
For more details please refer to ：Contransus | Chinese translation of Neo4j v. PureThink judgements；Judicial Digest of Open Source | Introduction to Neo4j v. PureThink Case
2022 Software Freedom Conservancy, Inc. v. Vizio, Inc. et al, No. 8:2021cv01943 - Document 30 (C.D. Cal. 13/5/2022) Please refer to original decision in English；Order Denying Vizio Motion for Summary Judgement(29/12/2023), Please refer to original decision in English
third-party beneficiary lawsuit GPL violation
2021 Google LLC v. Oracle America, INC. Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No.18-956, SC 2021 Please refer to original decision in English
use of Java API source code fair use
For more details please refer to ：Contransus | Chinese translation of Google v. Oracle Judgement；PrincipOS | Dive into Google v. Oracle Case
2021 Elasticsearch, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc. (3:19-cv-06158) District Court, N.D. California Please refer to original decision in English
trademark infringement
For more details please refer to ：Contransus | Chinese translation of Elasticsearch v. Amazon Judgement
2019 Rotheschild Patent Imaging LLC v. GNOME Foundation, Case 4:19-cv-05414-HSG Please refer to relevant press
patent infringement
2018 SCO Group, Inc. v. International Business Machines Corp., 879 F.3d 1062 (2018) Please refer to original decision in English
Linux copyright infringement
For more details please refer to ：Contransus | Chinese translation of SCO v. IBM judgement；PrincipOS | Dive into SCO v. IBM Case
2018 Great Minds v. FedEx Office & Print Services, Inc., No. 17-808 (2d Cir. 2018) Please refer to original decision in English
CC license non-commercial use
2018 Decision Q Corporation et al v. GigM Technologies, LLC et al, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 234707 Please refer to original decision in English
Apache license copyrightability
2017 Artifex Software, Inc. v. Hancom, Inc., No.16 Civ.6982, 2017 WL 1477373 (N.D.Cal.Apr.25,2017) Please refer to original decision in English
nature of GPLv3 "viral" effect legally binding dual-license
2017 CoKinetic Systems, Corp. v. Panasonic Avionics Corporation, 1:17-cv-01527, (S.D.N.Y.) Please refer to original decision in English
third-party beneficiary lawsuit GPL violation
2015 Art Drauglis v. Kappa Map Group,LLC, 128 F. Supp. 3d 46 (D.D.C. 2015) Please refer to original decision in English
collective works derivative works CC BY-SA 3.0
2014 XimpleWare, Inc. v. Versata Software, Inc. et al, No. 5:2013cv05161 - Document 142 (N.D. Cal. 2014) Please refer to original decision in English
trigger of conditions under GPLv2 patent infringement
For more details please refer to ：Contransus | Chinese translation of XimpleWare v. Versata Software et al. Case
2009 Free Software Foundation v. Cisco System, Inc, No.1:08CV10764 Please refer to relevant press
GPL provide source code
2008 JACOBSEN v. KATZER, No. 08-1001 (Fed. Cir. 2008) Please refer to original decision in English
Artistic license legally binding
2007 Software Freedom Law Center v. Monsoon Multimedia, Inc Please refer to relevant press
GPLv2.0 provide source code
2006 Wallace v. International Business Machines Corporation, No. 06-2454 Please refer to original decision in English
monopoly open source license predatory pricing
2005 Wallace v. Free Software Foundation, Inc. (S.D.Ind. 2005), 1:05-cv-0618-JDT-TAB (S.D. Ind. Nov. 28, 2005) Please refer to original decision in English
price fixing open source license collusion
2002 Progress Software Corp. v. MySQL AB, 195 F. Supp. 2d 328 (D. Mass. 2002) Please refer to original decision in English
GPL licensed software GPL violation trademark infringement
2001 Planetary Motion, Inc. v. Techsplosion, Inc., 261 F.3d 1188 (2001) Please refer to original decision in English
commercial use
EU
2022 Google and Alphabet v. Commission（Google Android）Case T-604/18 Please refer to original decision in English
predominance Android system
2012 Microsoft Corp. v European Commission T-167/08 Please refer to original decision in English
abuse of predominant position operating system interoperability information
Germany
2021 OLG Karlsruhe, Urteil vom 27.01.2021 - 6 U 60/20 Please refer to original decision in German
GPLv2 “viral” effect copyright infringement appeal to hypocrisy illegal derivative works
For more details refer to ：Contransus | Chinese translation of Decision 2021 OLG Karlsruhe, Urteil vom 27.01.2021 - 6 U 60/20 , Comments on the case；
2021 LG Mannheim, Vergleich v. 27.12.2021, Az. 7 O 2/21, Ayuso, Welte, Kedlecsik v. McHardy Please refer to original decision in German; English version
GPL enforcement
2019 OLG Frankfurt, 22.10.2019 - 11 U 95/18 Please refer to original decision in German
CC license damages
2019 OLG Hamburg, Urteil v. 28.02.2019, Christoph Hellwig v. VMware Global, Inc Please refer to original decision on First Instance in German
GPLv2 compliance copyright infringement
2018 LG München, Beschluss v. 17.12.2014, Az. 37 O 8778/14 Please refer to original decision in German
CC license appropriate refenrence to the license and credit
2018 AG Bochum, Urteil v. 11.04.2018 Please refer to original decision in German
CC license non-commercial use damages
2018 AG Kiel Urteil - Az. 111 C 7/17 Please refer to original decision in German
CC license damages
2017 LG Köln, 14 O 331/15 Please refer to original decision in German
CC license damages
2017 LG Hamburg, Urteil v. 20.11.2017; Az. 308 O 343/15 Please refer to original decision in German
GPLv2\LGPL calculation of damages copyright infringement
2017 OLG Hamm, Urteil v. 13.06.2017, Az. 4 U 72/16 Please refer to original decision in German
GPL copyright infringement
2017 LG Köln, Urteil v. 20.10.2017, Az. 14 O 188/17, McHardy v. Geniatech (nicht rechtskräftig, im Berufungsverfahren erledigt) Please refer to original decision in German
copyright injunction co-author
2016 LG Hamburg, Urteil v. 08.07.2016, Az. 310 O 89/15 Please refer to original decision in German
GPL compliance copyright infringement
2016 OLG Köln, Urteil v. 30.9.2016, Az. 6 U 18/16 Please refer to original decision in German
evidence of trademark use
2016 LG Bochum, Urteil v., Az. I-8 O 294/15 Please refer to original decision in German
GPL compliance copyright infringement
2015 LG Halle, Urteil v. 27.07.2015, Az. 4 O 133/15 Please refer to original decision in German
GPLv3 copyright infringement
2015 LG Hannover, Urteil v. 21.07.2015, Az. 18 O 159/15 Please refer to original decision in German
GPL copyright infringement
2015 LG Leipzig, Beschluss v. 02.06.2015, Az. 05 O 1531/15 Please refer to original decision in German
GPL remedy of injunction
2015 OLG Düsseldorf, judgement of 19.02.2015 - Az. I-15 U 39/14 Please refer to original decision in German
patent infringement exhaustion of right
2014 LG Köln, Urteil v. 17.7.2014, Az. 14 O 463/13 Please refer to original decision in German
GPL violation
2013 LG Hamburg, Urteil v. 14.06.2013, Az. 308 O 10/13 Please refer to original decision in German
GPL
2012 OLG Düsseldorf, Urteil v. 24.04.2012, Az. 1-20 U 176/11 Please refer to original decision in German
trademark descriptive fair use
2011 LG Bochum, Teilurteil v. 10.02.2011, Az. I-8 O 293/09 Please refer to original decision in German
LGPL-3.0 copyright infringement
2010 LG Hamburg, Urteil v. 10.12.2010, Az. 406 O 50/10 Please refer to original decision in German
trademark infringement
2010 OLG Düsseldorf, Urteil v. 28.09.2010, Az. I-20 U 41/09 Please refer to original decision in German
GPL trademark infringement
2009 BPatG, Beschluss v. 17.12.2009, Az. 25 W (pat) 65/08 Please refer to original decision in German
trademark
2008 BPatG, Beschluss v. 30.09.2008, Az. 33 W (pat) 1/07 Please refer to original decision in German
“open source broker”
2007 LG München I, Urteil v. 12.07.2007, Az. 7 O 5245/07 Please refer to original decision in German
open source license enforceability
2006 LG Frankfurt a.M., Urteil v. 06.09.2006, Az. 2-6 O 224/06 Please refer to original decision in German；English version
GPL The contract under conditions of revocation
2006 LG Berlin, Beschluss v. 21.02.2006, Az. 16 O 134/06 Please refer to original decision in German
GPL enforceability exhaustion of right copyright injunction
2005 Welte v Fortinet UK Ltd. (2005) Please refer to relevant press
GPL preliminary injunction gpl-violation.org Project
2004 LG München I, Urteil v. 19.05.2004, Az. 21 O 6123/04 Please refer to original decision in German; English version
GPLv2.0 copyright infringement
France
2024 Entr’ouvert v. Orange Please refer to Rehearing Decision by Appeal Court in French（2024）Appeal Decision(partly overruled) by Supreme Court in French（2022）Appeal Decision in French（2021）Decision on First Instance in French（2019）
GPL "viral" effect copyright infringement parasitical competition(la concurrence parasitaire) dual license
For more details please refer to ：Contransus | Chinese translation of Entr’ouvert v. Orange judgements; Comments on this case
2009 AFPA v. EDU 4, Cour d’appel de Paris, 10ème chambre, arrêt du 16 septembre 2009 Please refer to original decision in French
"viral" effect of GPL copyright infringement
2007 Educaffix v. Cnrs, TGI Paris, 3ème ch, 1ère sect., 28 mars 2007 Please refer to original decision in French
GPL "viral" effect
Spain
2011 Asociación de gestion de derechos intelectuales(AGEDI) y Artistase intérpretes o ejectutantes Sociedad de gestión de españa (AIE) v. Gimnasio Femenino Vambora”, SJMer, Madrid, núm. 5, 16-10-2008, SAP M 2422/2011. Please refer to original decision in Spanish
CC license violation copyright infringement
2007 Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE) v. Buena Vistilla club social, Audiencia Provincial de Madrid, Sección 28, 2007-07-05, Case No. 150/2007 Please refer to original decision in Spanish
CC license violation copyright infringement
2007 Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE) v. Bowling Sur S.A., Audiencia Provincial de Alicante, Sección 8, 2007-04-02, Case No. 111/2007 Please refer to original decision in Spanish
CC license violation copyright infringement
2006 SAGE v. FERNÁNDEZ, Juzgado de Primera Instancia nº 6 de Badajoz, 2006-02-17, Case No. 15/2006 Please refer to original decision in Spanish; English version
CC license violation copyright infringement
2006 Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE) v. Asociacion cultural ladinamo, JUZGADO DE LO MERCANTIL Nº 5, Procedimiento: Juicio Verbal 418/05 Please refer to original decision in Spanish
copyleft
2006 Sociedad General de Autores Y Editores v. Richardo Andres Utrera Fernández 15/2006 Please refer to English version
CC license free use
Other Countries
【Italy】TRIBUNALE DI VENEZIA SEZIONE SPECIALIZZATA INMATERIA DI IMPRESA, Repert. n. 5937/2021 del 13/12/2021 Please refer to original decision in Italian
GPLv3 preliminary injunction notice obligation copyright infringement
For more details Please refer to ：Contransus | Chinese translation of Ovation Judgment, Comments on the case；
【Russia】Almi Partner LLC v. Ministry for Digital Development, Communication and Mass Media of the Russian Federation Please refer to administrative decision in Russian(2019);original decision of the first instance in Russian(2020);English version of the first instance decision;orginal decision of the second instancein Russian(2020);English version of the second instance decision
violation of MPL
【New Zealand】Tc Horowhenua Trust. Catalyst IT Limited v. Progressive Technology Federal Systems Inc. DBA Liblime, Inc. DBA Liblime（2013） Please refer to administrative decision in English
trademark commercial use
【Belgium】Lichôdmapwa v. L’asbl Festival de Theatre de Spa, Le Tribunal de Première Instance de Nivelles (2010) Please refer to original decision in French
CC license violation copyright infringement
【Israel】2006-2008 Jin v. IChessU Please refer to the case process
GPL "viral" effect
【Netherlands】2006 Curry v. Audax, Rechtbank Amsterdam, 2006-03-09, Case No. 334492 / KG 06-176 SR. (9 March 2006) Please refer to original decision in Dutch; English version
CC license violation copyright infringement
The collection of cases mentioned above references:
- ifrOSS's colleciton of cases in Germany, France and other countries in European Union (see ifrOSS website);
- Book: The Open Source Rule: Cases, Licenses, and Open Source Organizations (Ping Zhang, Ed., and Meiling Xu, Executive Ed. - Beijing: Intellectual Property Publishing House, 2022.11 ISBN 978-7-5130-8376-8);
- Book: Open Source for Business: A Practical Guide to Open Source Software Licensing -- Third Edition (Heather Meeker; Translated by Liu Wei. --Beijing: Posts and Telecommunications Press, 2023.5 ISBN 978-7-115-60171-1).
The above case collection is prepared by the OpenAtom Foundation. We are intended to share legal resources related to the open source industry. We only provide link to those publicly available contents. However, the website registration may be required for accessing some of the cases. This collection itself does not represent suggestions or the official opinions of the OpenAtom Foundation.
Law
- 中华人民共和国慈善法
- 中华人民共和国民法典
- 中华人民共和国公益事业捐赠法
- 中华人民共和国境外非政府组织境内活动管理法
- 中华人民共和国个人所得税法
- 中华人民共和国著作权法
- 中华人民共和国专利法
- 中华人民共和国商标法
- 中华人民共和国反不正当竞争法
- 中华人民共和国刑法
- 中华人民共和国网络安全法
Regulations
- 中华人民共和国基金会管理条例
- 中华人民共和国企业所得税法实施条例
- 中华人民共和国志愿服务条例
- 中华人民共和国计算机软件保护条例
- 中华人民共和国专利法实施细则
- 中华人民共和国商标法实施条例
- 中华人民共和国著作权法实施条例
- 网络产品安全漏洞管理规定
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