[MPlayer-dev-eng] [RFC] upgrade license on LGPL 2 files

[Diego Biurrun]

On Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 01:37:46PM +0200, Aurelien Jacobs wrote:
> Robert Swain wrote:
> 
> > 2008/9/11 Diego Biurrun <diego at biurrun.de>:
> > > On Mon, Sep 08, 2008 at 07:41:11AM +0200, Diego Biurrun wrote:
> > >> The following files are licensed as LGPL 2 or later, not LGPL 2.1 or
> > >> later:
> > >>
> > >> libvo/vo_gif89a.c
> > >> libvo/vo_directfb2.c
> > >> libvo/vo_quartz.h
> > >> libvo/vo_dfbmga.c
> > >> TOOLS/dvd2divxscript.pl
> > >> libmpdemux/demux_avs.h
> > >> libmpdemux/demux_avs.c
> > >>
> > >> I propose that we upgrade to LGPL 2.1 or later on these files in order
> > >> to reduce the number of licenses used in our code base.
> > >
> > > Since I am hearing no objections, I will do this after the weekend.
> > 
> > Hmm. Have you contacted authors individually? It seems wrong to me to
> > alter the license without all authors' explicit consent.
> 
> The respective authors already explicitly allowed such a change (by
> using "or later" in their original license).

Precisely.  Otherwise relicensing would be impossible without the
authors' consent.

> So it's not needed to contact them (still it would be more polite).

No.  There is no need to ask for a permission twice, it was already
given.  It's not even polite, it's a useless bother.  And what would you
do if the permission was not renewed?  Just say "Ummm, OK, screw you
then." and go ahead regardless?  Refrain from relicensing?  Both
alternatives are a bad choice.

The permission cannot be retracted once given in any case.  Anybody is
allowed to upgrade the license on those files at wish.  And nobody
should base their decisions on whatever crosses the authors' minds
later.

Diego