Fortinet settles GPL violation suit

Security vendor Fortinet has agreed to make some of its source code available, following accusations that it violated the GPL, the company said on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, gpl-violations.org founder Harald Welte obtained a court injunction against Fortinet, banning the company from distributing its products until it complied with the conditions of the GPL. Welte claimed that Fortinet not only misused GPL-licensed code, but also tried to hide its use of GPL code by using cryptographic techniques.

Fortinet has now agreed to provide the source code of the Linux kernel and other GPL-licensed components to any interested party. The code is available on request, for the cost of distribution, from the Fortinet Web site. The company has also agreed to modify its licensing agreement to include the GPL licensing terms with all Fortinet shipments.

This is the latest in a string of victories for the gpl-violations.org project. Since starting the project in 2004, Welte has negotiated more than 30 out-of-court settlement agreements.

ZDNet UK recently spoke to Welte about his methods and the motivation behind gpl-violations.org. You can read the full interview here.