From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
Linus' thread: (CW: bigotry and racism in the comments) https://social.kernel.org/notice/AWSXomDbvdxKgOxVAm (you need to scroll down, i can't seem to link to the comment in the screenshot)
This happens from time to time. The offending party either removes the GPL code or they GPL the work. That's life ;)
Why would they offend and then GPL
It costs money to rewrite entire libraries
You don't need to rewrite it though. Just keep it closed source and import / copy paste whatever you want into your repo.
It's may be possible to tell if there is GPL code included whether or not the source is reveal. A simple example is that some plain-text strings are visible in compiled binaries. In this way, poking around with a hexeditor may reveal strings which indicate part of the code is GPL.
Hmmm. Thankfully I only develop small services and haven't done any big monolith that people wanna audit. When I get to that point I'll prolly get sued and then try to figure out what to do while profusely apologizing and denying at the same time.