The GPL Wins Again--Welte vs. Skype Technologies SA (Germany) | Linux Today

The GPL Wins Again–Welte vs. Skype Technologies SA (Germany)

Written By
Web Webster
Web Webster
May 9, 2008

“Today was the hearing in Skype’s appeal of an earlier judgment
against it for a GPL violation. Harald Welte, as part of the
gpl-violations.org project, brought the matter to court in Germany
back in February of 2007, seeking to enforce the GPL against Skype.
The case is Welte vs. Skype Technologies SA, and he won an
injunction in the lower court. But Skype wanted to appeal to the
higher court in Munich, alleging … hahahaha … well, something
about antitrust, à la Dan Wallace, I gather. You’ll recall
the Wallace v. FSF appeals court ruled on that theory in the US
already:

“The GPL encourages, rather than discourages, free competition
and the distribution of computer operating systems, the benefits of
which directly pass to consumers. These benefits include lower
prices, better access and more innovation…”

Complete
Story

Web Webster

Web Webster

Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.

Linux Today Logo

LinuxToday is a trusted, contributor-driven news resource supporting all types of Linux users. Our thriving international community engages with us through social media and frequent content contributions aimed at solving problems ranging from personal computing to enterprise-level IT operations. LinuxToday serves as a home for a community that struggles to find comparable information elsewhere on the web.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.