Comment by m463

It depends on if and who pursues the violation. For example, apple is violating the GPL with bash by distributing a binary but not distributing all the source code used to compile it.

I believe there are also violations by vmware and lots of others (I believe ubiquiti?)

That said, there are legitimate ways to distribute GPL code, such as a dual license.

You could write code and license it to company A under one license, and release it under GPL to company B.

company A could have any rights or responsibilities you grant, while company B would have to comply with the distribution restrictions of the GPL.

It's also worth noting that the GPL does not restrict how anyone USES the software, it only restricts how the software is redistributed.