FOSS license compliance in the consumer electronics market

“Due to the relative youth of the FOSS ecosystem, there is a
lack of case law and best practice information available. In the
past, one of the few resources available to the community was
Debian Legal, and businesses had little beyond Open Bar (USA) and
ifrOSS (EU) to support them.

“That situation is improving. Organizations like FSF’s Free
Software Licensing and Compliance Lab, gpl-violations.org, FSFE’s
Freedom Task Force and Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) have
helped push professional legal and business approaches to the
forefront of FOSS discourse. The recent launch of the International
Free and Open Source Software Law Review has provided a neutral
platform for future discussions. As FOSS has matured so too has the
level of information accessible to support businesses and projects.
The consumer electronics business

“Consumer electronics are sold in high volumes for low margins,
and competition in the market is fierce. The majority of sales take
place during the first three months after launch and consumers
focus on price and functionality when selecting new technology.
Products are developed in Asia by original device manufacturers
(ODMs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and shipped in
completed form. There are few western companies doing their own
development, and even those with in-house skills are unlikely to
build a finished product themselves.”

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