[gst-embedded] [gst-devel] gstreamer plugin license

Sun Mar 15 22:35:37 PDT 2009

Just as Edward said, it's a tricky situation.

On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 9:34 AM, Liang Zhao <liangzhao.bit at gmail.com> wrote:

> Prajnashi,
>
> That is correct, but do you find any disclaimers in OpenCore fileformat
> folder?
>
> Zhao Liang.
>
> 2009/3/14 Prajnashi S <prajnashi at gmail.com>
>
>> Zhao Liang,
>> Please read disclaimer in android's mp3 decoder
>>
>> http://android.git.kernel.org/?p=platform/external/opencore.git;a=blob;f=codecs_v2/audio/mp3/patent_disclaimer.txt;h=b4bf11d4ab14011ba28ce5ff6090529d2b7b587f;hb=HEAD
>>
>>  2 <#1200cea5b237d7d8_12004b54cbec217d_l2>THIS IS NOT A GRANT OF PATENT RIGHTS.
>>  3 <#1200cea5b237d7d8_12004b54cbec217d_l3>
>> 4 <#1200cea5b237d7d8_12004b54cbec217d_l4>Google makes no representation or warranty that the codecs for which
>>  5 <#1200cea5b237d7d8_12004b54cbec217d_l5>source code is made available hereunder are unencumbered by
>>  6 <#1200cea5b237d7d8_12004b54cbec217d_l6>third-party patents.  Those intending to use this source code in
>>  7 <#1200cea5b237d7d8_12004b54cbec217d_l7>hardware or software products are advised that implementations of
>>  8 <#1200cea5b237d7d8_12004b54cbec217d_l8>these codecs, including in open source software or shareware, may
>>  9 <#1200cea5b237d7d8_12004b54cbec217d_l9>require patent licenses from the relevant patent holders.
>>
>> For codec, google release it doesn't mean it has no patent issue.
>>
>> On Fri, Mar 13, 2009 at 4:58 PM, Liang Zhao <liangzhao.bit at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> Julien,
>>>
>>> I agree with you about LGPL, but for my cases, mp3demux, seems it has few
>>> issues (just my personal oppionion).
>>> I quote an example from Android, in Android formal release, it has
>>> openCore engine with mp3demux sourcecode embedded, and its license is Apache
>>> license. If it has patent issues, google may not release it.
>>>
>>> That's just my guess. :)
>>>
>>> Zhao Liang
>>>
>>> 2009/3/13 Julien Moutte <julien at moutte.net>
>>>
>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> Please have a look at paragraph 11 of the LGPL :
>>>>
>>>> ---
>>>> 11. If, as a consequence of a court judgment or allegation of patent
>>>> infringement or for any other reason (not limited to patent issues),
>>>> conditions are imposed on you (whether by court order, agreement or
>>>> otherwise) that contradict the conditions of this License, they do not
>>>> excuse you from the conditions of this License.  If you cannot
>>>> distribute so as to satisfy simultaneously your obligations under this
>>>> License and any other pertinent obligations, then as a consequence you
>>>> may not distribute the Library at all.  For example, if a patent
>>>> license would not permit royalty-free redistribution of the Library by
>>>> all those who receive copies directly or indirectly through you, then
>>>> the only way you could satisfy both it and this License would be to
>>>> refrain entirely from distribution of the Library.
>>>> ---
>>>>
>>>> That means that any (L)GPL component that you distribute needs to be
>>>> redistributable with no patent restriction.
>>>>
>>>> This is completely incompatible with most patent licensing agreements
>>>> which require you to pay a royalty fee for every unit you ship.
>>>>
>>>> Please find attached a document written by our lawyer on that topic.
>>>>
>>>> Fluendo's products are covering part of this problem. You can license
>>>> proprietary decoders and demuxers that will work with GStreamer and come
>>>> with or without patent licenses.
>>>>
>>>> Hope this helps,
>>>>
>>>> Best regards,
>>>>
>>>> Julien Moutte,
>>>> FLUENDO S.A.
>>>> http://www.fluendo.com
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Edward Hervey wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Fri, 2009-03-13 at 10:27 +0800, Liang Zhao wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I plan to port mpegaudioparse and asfdemux in plugin-ugly into my
>>>>>> product for resale, is it reasonable?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>  If you mean whether you have the right... it's LGPL, so yes :)
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>  no any license/patent issues?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>  Two different things:
>>>>>  * The software license (LGPL) : If you make any modifications, try to
>>>>> push them upstream, since anybody buying your 'product' will have the
>>>>> right to demand the exact source code use to build those plugins.
>>>>>
>>>>>  * Patents. This is for container formats... and it's, to be honest, a
>>>>> very tricky situation.
>>>>>  There are some saying you need to pay royalties (to whom?) and some
>>>>> not (because container formats are trivial). But something tells me
>>>>> that
>>>>> if there was any patents involved ... you would already be covered
>>>>> considering that you must have decoders (asf without wm* decoders is
>>>>> useless, and mpegaudioparse without mp3 decoder also) for which you
>>>>> acquired (or are acquiring, or got the usage rights with the hardware
>>>>> decoders) a usage license.
>>>>>  Consult a lawyer.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>  if have, after I pay the royalty, is it ok?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>  The two items above are the only major items to be aware of. But as I
>>>>> said, if you're making a product, you might want to consult a lawyer
>>>>> specialized in that field.
>>>>>
>>>>>  Keep us informed of your progress and show us what product it is once
>>>>> it's released :)
>>>>>
>>>>>   Edward
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> BRs.
>>>>>> Zhao Liang
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> -- Prajnashi S
>>
>
>
>
> --
> BRs.
> Zhao Liang
>

-- 
-- Prajnashi S
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