] The case involved software written in part by Drew
] Technologies, Inc., to which others contributed, in
] reliance upon the GPL. DrewTech, an engineering firm in
] Michigan, develops custom vehicle communications
] solutions for the automobile industry. DrewTech released
] the software at issue on SourceForge, under the GNU
] General Public License ("GPL").
]
] I never thought I'd find cars fascinating. But this case
] changed my mind. It's a struggle over ownership of
] software written and released under the GPL but later
] claimed as a copyrighted work by a publisher of standards
] for the automotive industry, the Society of Automotive
] Engineers. But on a deeper level, it addresses a new
] issue. With cars now being computerized, can
] manufacturers assert copyright and trade secret rights
] over software? Over standards? Before you answer, did you
] know that there is proposed legislation, the Motor
] Vehicle Owner's Right to Repair Act?

This is really good news. It is unacceptable for information required to comply with the law to be some company's proprietary intellectual property.

A GPL Win in Michigan - DrewTech v. SAE