[FFmpeg-devel] [PATCH 1/2] avcodec/nvenc: Include NVENC SDK header

[Hendrik Leppkes]

On Wed, Dec 9, 2015 at 5:33 PM, Timo Rothenpieler <timo at rothenpieler.org> wrote:
>>>> Should fall under the system library stuff the GPL defines.
>>>
>>> I may misunderstand (I am not a native speaker) but the word
>>> "should" imo indicates that you cannot commit your patch.
>>>
>>
>> The header is licensed rather liberally and doesn't actually link
>> against anything, I don't see it violating any licensing concerns.
>> With other libraries where people would like to use such reasons, the
>> headers are usually also license restricted, which results in quite a
>> different situation.
>>
>> If the header should be part of FFmpeg is just a question of if we
>> want it here, the license does not prevent it.
>> If we decide not to commit this patch, an alternative patch should be
>> pushed which removes the non-free requirement and updates the header
>> version requirement.
>
> If I understand carl right, the question is not about the header, but
> about if dlopen'ing a non-free library, the CUDA and NVENC ones in this
> case, makes ffmpeg non-free, or if they are system libraries and thus
> it's ok to link against them.
>

The generated binary contains no non-free code, not even used a
non-free header, nor does it depend on any non-free binary to run.
And even if you want to cite that particular rule - if drivers are not
considered part of the system, then I don't know what is.

- Hendrik