[FFmpeg-devel] GPL version matter

[Uoti Urpala]

On Sun, 2007-07-01 at 21:03 +0200, Michael Niedermayer wrote:
> Hi
> 
> On Sun, Jul 01, 2007 at 09:26:00PM +0300, Uoti Urpala wrote:
> > Your original claim and what M?ns wrote were about software patents
> > owned by someone else. Your quote looks like it's in the context of
> > keeping _your own_ software patents applicable while distributing the
> > software under L(GPL).
> 
> no its about a company who wanted to use ffmpeg, and asked the FSF, who told
> them that signing the MPEG-LA license is a violation of the LGPL

I do not believe that the FSF claimed using FFmpeg internally and
signing the MPEG-LA patent license would violate the LGPL. The LGPL
quite explicitly says that acts such as running the program are not
covered by the license - thus using (running) the program internally
could not possibly violate the license whatever other agreements you
sign.

If the use in question included distributing "licensed" copies of FFmpeg
to customers, but without allowing further distribution under the same
license, then in that context the quote could make sense.

> at least we seem to agree that there is nothing in the *GPL2 which would
> support such a interpretation ...

I'm not sure exactly which "such an interpretation" you mean, nor
whether you're implying that GPL 3 would significantly differ.