The FSF position is quite clear...
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| mschwartz Jan 12, 2011 5:30 PM EDT |
The FSF, which is the copyright holder of the GPL, caused the withdrawal of GNU Go from the App Store last year, because the FSF itself, believes that distribution of GPL apps via the App Store is in violation of the GPL: http://www.fsf.org/news/2010-05-app-store-compliance It does not matter what the authors of the iOS port believe or want, it matters what the FSF believes and their position is quite clear. The AppStore and the GPL are incompatible, period. The authors of the iOS port cannot engage in behavior that is against the GPL, as much as they might want. It's not their call. |
| dinotrac Jan 12, 2011 5:35 PM EDT |
@mschwartz -- It certainly does matter, unless the FSF holds the copyright to VLC. Copyright holders are not bound by the terms of the GPL because they have superceding rights from the copyright law itself. The big question is whether the group doing IOS possesses sufficient rights -- ie, represent all of the developers, or have assignments of rights for all of the developers, to put VLC in the App store. |
| tracyanne Jan 12, 2011 5:40 PM EDT |
Actually dino, so long as VLC is licensed under the GPL, the FSF opinion holds. The copyright owners of VLC are free to change the license, to one more ameniable to the App store, or even dual license it. |
| jimbauwens Jan 12, 2011 5:41 PM EDT |
I think that the developers of the iOS version are not the developers of the normal version (they did not create vlc, simply ported it). And if I remember good, it was a VLC that filled the complaint. |
| jdixon Jan 12, 2011 5:46 PM EDT |
> And if I remember good, it was a VLC that filled the complaint. One of the VLC developers, actually. But yes, someone with copyright to some of the code filed the complaint. |
| jimbauwens Jan 12, 2011 6:08 PM EDT |
Yes, that is what I ment, just forgot to write "developer" :-) |
| dinotrac Jan 12, 2011 6:31 PM EDT |
Actually, tracyanne, it doesn't. Much as they may wish otherwise, FSF opinions do not trump copyright law. |
| bigg Jan 12, 2011 6:46 PM EDT |
FSF opinion plays no role in anything. The developers of VLC can do what they want with the code they have written; the GPL is relevant only as it concerns what others do with the code or if they are distributing someone else's code. If an opinion is necessary, legally, it is the opinion of a court that matters. |
| dinotrac Jan 12, 2011 6:51 PM EDT |
@bigg - There is one asterisk to that , although the FSF isn't it. To the extent that other people have contributed code under the GPL and have not ceded additional rights, the developers are either bound by the GPL or must eliminate the contributed code. |
| bigg Jan 12, 2011 7:17 PM EDT |
@dino Yes. I have edited my comment to reflect that. |
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