[FFmpeg-devel] license violator seeking help to continue his behavior

[Ronald S. Bultje]

Hi,

On Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 2:28 PM, Patrice
Bensoussan<patrice.bensoussan at free.fr> wrote:
> From what I understand, section 2 only applies if you modify the GPL'ed
> software, which is not the case. Any patch/modification/fix I did has been
> submitted to this list, approved and committed.

You have to understand that by doing so, you are basically submitting
yourself to the grace of the FFmpeg project, a legally non-existing
group of void. Do you trust us? Really?

What if we modify the source that you point to on your website without
telling anyone? *You* are distributing the binary without related
source and point to the wrong source, not us, so *you* are then in
violation, because *we* are providing the source.
What if we modify the source download location?
What if the FFmpeg project stops existing?
What if we relicense and go proprietary or otherwise make the source
license GPL/LGPL incompatible?
What if someone hacks our website?
What if ... etc.

It's highly unlikely any of the above would happen, but to be in good
legal standing, it's safer to provide the exact source used to compile
your binary (+ build script) on a website you trust.

Ronald