[FFmpeg-devel] Searching for a ffmpeg BCLO (bastard chief legal officer)

[Chris Ribe]

On Mon, Mar 17, 2008 at 12:02 PM, Chris Ribe <chrisribe at gmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> >
> > OK, so why don't we give this a try?  A good first target seems to be
> > VEMoDe, which claims to be GPLed, but provides no source:
> >
> > http://vemode.coreforge.org/
> >
> > You should create an account for yourself in our issue tracker, we list
> > license violations there, this one is issue 370:
> >
> > https://roundup.mplayerhq.hu/roundup/ffmpeg/issue370
> >
>
>
> Alright, I'll check it out and compose something appropriate.
>

 I've drafted a letter to send to the author of VEMoDe.  Since it is my
first correspondence on behalf of ffmpeg,  I figured I would run it by this
list before sending it, in case there are any objections to the content.
Note that I refer exclusively to the GPL instead of the LGPL, as the
ffmpeg.exe being distributed was compiled with the --enable-gpl flag.


Mr. Fuentes,
>      I recently downloaded your software, VEMoDe, from the link on its
> webpage at http://vemode.coreforge.org/.  The downloads available on the
> site include binary versions of FFmpeg, and I am contacting you on behalf of
> the FFmpeg copyright holders.
>      Unfortunately, your redistribution does not meet the requirements set
> forth by the GPL, and you must meet those requirements if you wish to
> continue distributing copies of FFmpeg.
>      Specifically,  the source code of the project is not included with
> the download and no offer to provide the source code accompanies the
> software.  I imagine this is merely an oversight on your part, as your
> README states that your software is distributed under the GPL and a copy of
> the GPL itself is included.  Nevertheless, this must be corrected.
>      I was able to find some of the source code for your project on the
> CORECODEC site (at
> http://coreforge.org/frs/download.php/28/vemode12b_src.zip ),  but please
> be aware that providing the contents of that zip file alone would not
> satisfy the requirements of the GPL.  While it contains most of the FFmpeg
> source, it does not contain everything needed to build FFmpeg from source.
> The GPL states, "For an executable work, complete source code means all the
> source code for all modules it contains, plus any associated interface
> definition files, plus the scripts used to control compilation and
> installation of the executable."  Furthermore, the source .zip file does not
> contain the source of the various other executable files included in your
> distribution.
>      In light of these problems, we request that you either bring your
> software distribution into compliance with the GPL  or cease distributing
> copies of FFmpeg immediately.   Given your apparent desire to distribute
> your software under the GPL, I am optimistic that we can work this out to
> everyone's satisfaction.
>
> Sincerely,
> Chris Ribe
>


 If there are no objections to this letter, I will go ahead an send it.

-chris

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