alt Hacker NewsI understand, appreciate and respect copyleft but I'm no zealot.
Fundamentally this rubs me the same wrong way as others attempting to enforce social contracts do. It feels wrong to assume that western ethics should be universal and apply to a foreign entity such as a business in China. Perhaps they simply view this as a viable approach? And, surprise, it is, at least for them. Do I wish that weren't the case? Sure, that'd be grand. But I don't see how this post gets us any closer to that fantasy.
Put yourself in their shoes. Someone released some software under a license designed around a foreign legal framework that doesn't apply to you. You can make products using that software that people want and make money. Is it your fault you are immune from the license? Is it your government's? Is it wrong to do so? I don't think it's clear enough.
And yeah the call to action should be clear. It's not. I don't see why they can't pursue legal action and go for damages or at the very least prevent the sale of their printers in local jurisdictions. Perhaps that would still be performative but it at least creates precedence that others can use to strengthen their own cases, or allow governments to push for action. But it appears like they're doing nothing.
If the US or the EU are going to do nothing about Chinese companies pedaling wares derived from US/EU IP made possible only by dodging licensing requirements then perhaps it's simply not a viable approach to rely on copyleft to protect you. Or you can try and change that.
I think you are missing the point. Someone made the software and assigned it a license. Bambulabs decided they wanted to build their product on top of that. No one forced them. It was a business decision. So it's first and foremost a dick move to not adhere to it.
They could have created their complete custom, closed source, commercially licensed slicer. They didn't. It was probably a lot cheaper to take some else's work and slap your customizations on it.
On open source license if first and foremost the original author's decision on what can and can not, must or must not be done with their code. therefore shaming someone for ignoring the wishes is not just a last resort, but a valid strategy. Especially if it is company that wants and has money.
We wouldn't need any legal avenue when saying "don't be a dick" would work. Not respecting someone's work and wishes seems to be a pretty universal dick move from what I understand.