Comment by teddyh
8 hours ago
Maybe. Who can and cannot sue is irrelevant to my point. But I seriously doubt that anyone can sue for source code. Someone might sue for damages, and the company might offer to settle by offering source code. But IIUC, no company can be sued and forced to give up any source code, unless the company itself chooses to do this instead of paying damages.
I don't know how easy it is in Germany compared to the U S., but this is false. In the U.S., you absolute can sue (and it is extremely common) to force certain actions. See: constructive trust, mandatory injunction, prohibitive injunction, specific performance, recission, writ.
In all likelihood, you would not receive the source code in the U.S., though. If deadset against release, the outcome would likely be that the offender would be fined and injoined from any further distribution.
To repeat: Maybe that's how it works in America. In Germany, it seems you can sue for anything you're entitled to, not just money.