[FFmpeg-devel] GPL version matter

[Måns Rullgård]

GISQUET Christophe <christophe.gisquet at free.fr> writes:

> Good evening,
>
> Diego Biurrun a ?crit :
>> I would really appreciate it if you could contribute this under LGPL,
>> like the rest of FFmpeg.  We are not talking about a big piece of code
>> and as you may have seen from the thread, it might cause quite a bit of
>> a stir in the project...
>
> I've triple-licensed that code under GPL 2 and 3, and LGPL3, strict
> version numbers. If the versioning is troublesome to you, then let
> it only be available under GPL, that is until a new revision of the
> {L,}GPL is out for my inspection. I still strongly disagree with the
> "a version -> any version" of the LGPL2.x, and have already put
> aside my dislike for v3 to allow such license.

This patch is small and non-essential.  I don't think it's worth
further complicating the license situation just for this piece of
code.

License matters are bad enough anyway with all the patented algorithms
we implement, and the [L]GPL making impenetrable statements about
patents hardly improves the situation.

--- Mini-rant below ---

Regarding the "any version" clauses, I don't see how anyone that cares
enough to choose a GPL-type license can place the fate of their work
in the hands of the FSF.  Personally, I generally release code where I
am in full control under the MIT license, so I'm not terribly bothered
by that clause being present in the license for FFmpeg.

It is also a mystery to me how anyone can consciously release anything
at all under terms as murky as the GPL.

-- 
M?ns Rullg?rd
mans at mansr.com