A landmark legal victory for software freedom advocates has been achieved as AVM, Germany's largest home router manufacturer, was compelled to provide complete software reinstallation capabilities to its router users following a court case in Berlin.
The lawsuit, funded by the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC), was filed by Sebastian Steck in July 2023 after he discovered that the source code provided by AVM for his router purchased in May 2021 could not be properly compiled and reinstalled.
The case centered on users' rights under the Lesser General Public License version 2.1 (LGPLv2.1), which requires manufacturers to allow device owners to modify and reinstall software. While AVM initially argued that allowing changes in temporary memory would be sufficient, the court upheld Steck's position that users must have the ability to make permanent modifications to their device's software.
As part of the resolution, AVM provided all requested source code including installation scripts and paid Steck's legal fees. The company chose not to appeal the court's decision, effectively establishing a precedent for users' rights to repair and modify software on their devices.
"I am pleased that this litigation compelled AVM to provide the compilation and reinstallation information," said Steck, who expects AVM to update their public source code archives with the complete installation scripts.
This case marks a notable development in software freedom rights, being one of the first to focus exclusively on LGPL licensing terms. The SFC has published the updated source code archives and court documents, advancing their mission to promote practical software modification rights for all device owners.