[XviD-devel] xvid license

[Christian Fredrik Kalager Schaller]

>> So: If you created a single source tree with GStreamer and XVID, I 
>> would say, it would be you who violated the license. I know that
>> there are projects where LGPLed and GPLed code parts are present, but
>> strictly speaking, I think that's not allowed (unless the whole is >>
decleared GPL).
>
> How about just including gstreamer plugin to XviD's cvs, under GPL?
> One needs to have XviD in order to use it with gstreamer anyway, so it
> doesn't matter where the plugin is from.
>
> Correct me if I'm wrong, but few more files won't hurt our cvs server
> right? ;)
> 
> Radek
Well to clarify how GStreamer handles things and how we interpret the GPL
in regards to plugins.

Not that it matter, but GStreamer do not include the xvid source as such, we
just include code for a plugin that links to it. While we do have some GPL code
in our CVS we do prefer to just link to outside libs since we get upstream 
bugfixes for free that way without any of us having to manually update our copy.
This works well for libs with relativly stable API's, but we have had some issues 
with libs changing lots API's every release, but that is another debate :)

Anyway our interpretation of the GPL is as follows, while our plugin code is 
LGPL licensed (and can be re-used as such on its own) it do become GPL at 
compile/link time. The framework as such is still LGPL and  non-GPL apps can
still use it even with GPL plugins installed as long as they only call on 
non-GPL plugins. GPL applications on the other hand can freely call both GPL 
and LGPL/BSD plugins, but need an exception in its own license for any non-GPL 
compatible plugin it wants to use.

Currently almost all our applications are using the GPL which makes the debate
a bit academic, but the essence is that we do not feel that shipping plugins that
are in effect covered by the GPL makes the whole system GPL unless one of those GPL
plugins are actually called. 

As for putting the GStreamer plugin into xvid, well that is an option of course,
but I think we do prefer to keep it inside GStreamer (for practical reasons) 
since it is being maintained by one of us and not someone who works on xvid.

Christian

-- 
Christian Fredrik Kalager Schaller <Uraeus at linuxrising.org>