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{% extends "base_compliance.html" %}
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{% block subtitle %}Copyleft Compliance Projects - {% endblock %}
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{% block submenuselection %}LiberateFirmware{% endblock %}
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{% block content %}
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<h1 id="software-freedom-conservancy-proposal-for-firmware-liberation-project">Firmware Liberation Project</h1>
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2020-07-20 18:25:21 +00:00
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<p>Conservancy plans to select a class of product in the Linux-based embedded
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system space. For this product, Conservancy will launch, or assist, a
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project that creates a functioning alternative firmware for those devices.
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The promise of GPL enforcement is only realized through actual, practical use
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and improvement of the released software for users.</p>
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<h2 id="gpl-enforcement-needs-follow-through">GPL Enforcement Needs Follow-Through</h2>
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<p>Simply enforcing the GPL is an important first step, and Conservancy
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<a href="enforcement-strategy.html">continues our efforts in that
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regard</a>. However, we can
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replicate <a href="/copyleft-compliance/enforcement-strategy.html#brief-history-of-user-focused-gpl-enforcement">the
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success found with OpenWrt</a> <em>only by</em> a substantial
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effort <strong>after</strong> enforcement occurs to turn the compliant
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source release into a viable alternative firmware for the platform.</p>
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<p>Conservancy has seen non-compliant Linux-based firmwares on refrigerators,
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baby monitors, virtual assistants, soundbars, doorbells, home security
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cameras, police body cameras, cars, AV receivers, and televisions. We
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believe that building an alternative firmware for one of these classes of
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devices — or joining our work with an existing alternative firmware project
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that is struggling due to lack of sources available — will lead to
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more palpable software freedom for users of these device.</p>
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<h2 id="limited-success-of-alternative-hardware">Limited Success of
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Alternative Hardware</h2>
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<p>Alternative hardware projects remain an essential component of small
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device freedom. Conservancy supports and engages with communities that seek
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to source and build IoT-style devices from the ground up. We’re excited to
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see deployable boards that allow Maker efforts to create new devices.</p>
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<p>Nevertheless, we remain ever-cognizant that FOSS succeeded on servers,
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laptop, desktop, and wireless router computers <em>precisely</em> because
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users could buy commodity hardware at any store and install FOSS
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alternatives to the vendor-provided software. Throughout the history of
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FOSS, most new users who seek to experience software freedom want to do so
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with their existing devices first. Many don't even know much about the
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issues involved in software liberation <em>until they've already purchased
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hardware</em>. Conservancy therefore believes support of alternative
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firmwares for such devices is paramount.</p>
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<h3 id="demonstrating-the-power-of-software-freedom">Demonstrating the power
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of software freedom</h3>
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<p>To many, the benefits of software freedom are abstract. For less technical
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users, the idea of modifying or even reviewing the software on their
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devices is wholly theoretical. For technical users, there is a limited time
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available to invest in the devices they use for their everyday
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lives. Bringing people together to take collective action for the control
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of their own technology is a powerful proposition that has rarely been
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demonstrated.</p>
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<p>When alternative firmware projects like OpenWrt exist for IoT devices,
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non-technical users can replace the software on their devices and benefit
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from custom, community-controlled software. Technical users are more likely
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to contribute knowing their efforts will be meaningful.</p>
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<p>However, decades of corporate involvement in copyleft have demonstrated
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that without an organized effort, control over one’s own software is purely
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theoretical, even when software has a copyleft license, and
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sometimes <em>even when</em> compliance with the copyleft license is
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acheived. Conservancy recognizes that there is a unique opportunity for
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charitable organizations to step in and change the power dynamic of the
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tech industry for consumers.</p>
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<h2 id="conservancys-plan-for-action">Conservancy’s Plan For Action</h2>
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<p>Conservancy seeks to fund work on liberating firmware for a specific
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device. This is accomplished with a two-prong approach: first, we will
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leverage increased interest and tendency toward GPL compliance throughout
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the embedded industry to more quickly achieve compliant source releases in
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a particular subindustry.</p>
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<p>Second, depending on what subindustry (i.e., specific class of devices)
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seems most responsive to increased enforcement activity and willing to
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provide compliant source releases quickly, we will launch, coordinate and
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fund an alternative firmware project for that class, or, if appropriate,
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merge our efforts with an existing alternative firmware project for that
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class of device.</p>
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<h2 id="leveraging-on-increased-enforcement">Leveraging on Increased
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Enforcement</h2>
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2020-07-17 20:13:45 +00:00
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<p><a href="enforcement-strategy.html">Conservancy already plans to select a
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specific violation and engage in litigation.</a> Based on past experience,
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we expect that the press and attention to that ongoing litigation will
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yield increased responsiveness by violators throughout the industry. (A
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similar outcome occurred after our BusyBox-related litigation in 2006.)
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This expected change in behavior will open opportunities to replicate the
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OpenWrt approach in another embedded electronic subindustry. Fast action
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will be necessary; most IoT products have an 18 month lifecycle, so we seek
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to quickly identify the right subindustry, gain compliance there, and move
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on to the next phase.</p>
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<h3 id="funding-firmware-liberation">Funding Firmware Liberation</h3>
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<p>While we’ve long hoped that volunteers would take up compliant sources
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obtained in our GPL enforcement efforts and build alternative firmware
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projects as they did with OpenWrt, history shows us that the creation of
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such projects is not guaranteed and exceedingly rare.</p>
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<p>Traditionally, our community has relied exclusively on volunteers to take
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up this task, and financial investment only comes after volunteers have put
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in the unfunded work to make a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) liberated
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firmware. While volunteer involvement remains essential to the success of
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alternative firmware projects, we know from our fiscal sponsorship work
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that certain aspects of FOSS projects require an experienced charity to
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initiate and jump-start some of the less exciting aspects of FOSS project
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creation and development. (In our last fiscal year, Conservancy funded 160
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contributors to work on FOSS.)</p>
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<p>In the initial phase, Conservancy will select a specific
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class of device. Upon achieving compliant source releases in that
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subindustry through GPL enforcement, Conservancy will launch an alternative
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firmware project for that class of device.</p>
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<p>Conservancy will seek to fund the time of project leaders and
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infrastructure for the project. The goal is to build a firm base that draws
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volunteers to the project. We know that sustaining funding over long
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periods for a grassroots hobbyist activity is quite challenging; we seek to
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bootstrap and catalyze interest and contribution to the project. Ideally,
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Conservancy would run the project with a single full-time staffer for about
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a year, and achieve a volunteer base sufficient to reduce funding to one
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part-time staffer.</p>
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<h3 id="criteria-for-device-selection">Criteria for Device Selection</h3>
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<p>The IoT device industry moves quickly and we must be prepared to adapt
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based on new information. The first stage in this work will be to carefully
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evaluate and select the device on which to focus for this
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project. Conservancy will evaluate the following criteria in selecting a
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class of devices:</p>
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<ul>
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<li><p>Do most devices in the subindustry already run a known FOSS system
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(such as Android/Linux, BusyBox/Linux or GNU/Linux)?</p></li>
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<li><p>In response to our increased enforcement activity, how many existing
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GPL-compliant source releases are available from how many different
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vendors in this subindustry?</p></li>
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<li><p>Is there a known userspace application that runs on Maker-built
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hardware that does the task the proprietary userspace software from the
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vendor did?</p></li>
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<li><p>What is the excitement level among volunteers for this
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project?</p></li>
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<li><p>What value will hobbyists achieve from replacing the software on their
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device? For example, would they be able to avoid surveillance or add
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accessibility features?</p></li>
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</ul>
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<p>Finally, Conservancy will be prepared and willing to recognize temporary
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failure and setbacks in a particular subindustry and pivot quickly to
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choosing a different class of devices. This project is ambitious, and we’ll
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be adroit in our approach to ensure success.</p>
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2020-10-01 17:58:20 +00:00
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{% endblock %}
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