[FFmpeg-devel] using ffmpeg framework in commercial product

Reimar Döffinger Reimar.Doeffinger
Tue May 19 15:11:02 CEST 2009


Hello,
On Tue, May 19, 2009 at 08:49:42AM -0400, Jason Garrett-Glaser wrote:
> > ? ? ? - Can we distribute it (in our cd-media, ftp, or other) ?
> > ? ? ? Or we can just suggest the user to download the package
> > ? ? ? form ffmpeg website ?
> 
> As long as you distribute the source that was used to build the ffmpeg
> you are distributing along with the license, you can distribute it.
> You can also distribute an offer for the source (i.e. a notice as to
> where a user can acquire it) and provide a download package on your
> website.

Just to clarify: no response you can get here will free you from your
responsibility to read the licence (or possibly better, get a lawyer to
read it for you). Also I think the FSF more or less is the "offical"
place to get answers to questions about the license (depending on the
complexity of the question not necessarily for free though).
Why am I saying this as a response to that part? Because if you only
ship with an offer for the source code there are more restrictions,
e.g. the offer must be valid for 3 years (so make really sure you have
_proper_ backups of the _exact_ source you used), and you must provide
it "on a medium customarily used for software interchange", so only a
internet link is _not_ enough (though most people will be satisfied with
that), and if you take the license seriously you _must_ plan on how to do
that shipping (and if you want to take advantage of that, how they will
pay for shipping etc.).

> > ? If so, as we can't distribute under GPL our commercial product,
> > ? is it possible to avoid this using the LGPL version ?
> 
> Correct as well.  The LGPL version can be linked from a program of any
> license as long as you follow the rules of the LGPL.

Note that you can _not_ use a standard EULA. They include terms like
"you may not reverse-engineer" etc., which are incompatible with the
LGPL. Using such a EULA together with linking against LGPL lavc you be a
violation of the LGPL.



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