After years of legal battles, the Court of Appeal of Paris has issued a landmark decision against Orange, one of France’s leading telecom providers. The court found Orange guilty of copyright infringement and violation of the GNU General Public License (GPL) in its use of Entr’Ouvert’s Lasso software. The ruling orders Orange to pay substantial damages, totaling €500,000 for compensatory damages and an additional €150,000 for moral damages.
The case dates to 2011 when Entr’Ouvert, the publisher of Lasso, a crucial library for the Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) protocol, initiated legal proceedings against Orange. Orange had utilized the Lasso software in developing components of the service-public.fr portal, a platform facilitating online interactions between citizens and the French government for administrative purposes. However, Orange failed to comply with the GPL terms, neglecting to provide modifications to the software under the open-source license or make the corresponding source code accessible.
The legal dispute traversed numerous complexities, including debates over Entr’Ouvert’s copyright claims and the appropriate legal grounds for the case—whether it constituted breach of contract or copyright infringement. Initially, in March 2021, the Appeals Court dismissed the copyright infringement allegations, categorizing the matter as a breach of contract. However, the decision faced scrutiny from the Court of Cassation, France’s highest judicial authority, leading to its overturning in October 2022.
The recent ruling by the Court of Appeal marks a pivotal moment in this protracted legal saga. The awarded compensatory damages encompass both the lost profits incurred by Entr’Ouvert and the disgorgement of profits obtained by Orange through its unauthorized use of the Lasso software. Additionally, the court recognized the intangible harm suffered by Entr’Ouvert, attributing moral damages to compensate for reputational damage and other non-monetary injuries endured throughout the litigation.
This case underscores the significance of adherence to open-source licensing agreements and the protection of intellectual property rights in the digital age. To achieve this, it’s necessary for companies to perform regular open-source software audits on their code, ensuring detailed understanding of their software composition and the applicable licensing. With audits now more accessible, it’s essential to mitigate risks that could lead to legal and financial liabilities.
Take proactive steps to ensure compliance with Fossity’s innovative open-source software audits. Download the Fossity Probe today and begin your journey towards open-source license compliance.
Sources:
Non-respect de la licence GPL: Orange condamné en appel – ZDNet