[vlc-devel] VLC on AppStore under the name 'GoodPlayer' ?

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

On Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 07:20:40PM +0200, Rémi Denis-Courmont wrote :
> Err, count me out. Not only you need to ensure that the App Store terms are 
> compatible with the GPL.

We took some time, with Diego (FFMpeg, Mplayer, relicensor of FFmpeg to
LGPL, etc...) to look at them, once again, when we were at the VDD.
linkfanel was present too, IIRC.

More or less, the updated AppStoreTerms have little evolved, but most of
the issues raised here before, are either removed or not really an issue
anymore, but ONE , the most important:

  You agree that the App and Book Services and certain App and Book
  Products include security technology that limits your use of App and
  Book Products and that, whether or not App and Book Products are limited
  by security technology, you shall use App and Book Products in
  compliance with the applicable usage rules established by Apple and its
  principals (“Usage Rules”), and that any other use of the App and Book
  Products may constitute a copyright infringement.

            Last updated October 12, 2011

The issue here is that if the app has DRM, it WILL limit your use, which
is against the spirit of GPL, par. 0.
And there is no way, that I know, to know if your app includes security
technology or not.

The copyright part of the above sentence is the one of the application vendor.

However, it is true that many GPL applications are on the AppStore now,
include MPlayerX.

> But _then_ you also need to ensure that Apple will 
> not sue you for breaking their application vendor contractual terms, which is 
> yet another set of terms potentially not compatible with the GPL.

So far, they are quite ok with open source, notably since the change in
March (or was it February?)

Best Regards,

-- 
Jean-Baptiste Kempf
http://www.jbkempf.com/ - +33 672 704 734
Sent from my Electronic Device