[MPlayer-dev-eng] KiSS of copyright

[Diego Biurrun]

Christof Buergi writes:
 > </lurk>
 > Am Dienstag, 16. März 2004 05.11 schrieb Diego Biurrun:
 > > IIUC they are bound by some contracts and cannot release all of their
 > > source.  Dunno which license wins in this case, that's something to
 > > ask a lawyer.  We might still force them to release parts of it. 
 > 
 > IANAL, but I think you're wrong. KiSS never accepted the license, so you 
 > may not enforce it. You may however, force KiSS to either accept the 
 > license or stop using the software. But it's their choice, not yours. 
 > Remember the case when Apple accused Microsoft of stealing their video 
 > code? In the end, Microsoft decided to remove the infringing code 
 > rather than paying for a license.

No, you are wrong.

MPlayer is copyrighted.  To use copyrighted material you need the
permission of the copyright holder, i.e. a license.  Using copyrighted
material without permission is a crime in most countries.  MPlayer is
only available under the terms of the GPL.  By using MPlayer you
implicitly accept the terms of the GPL, otherwise you would be
knowingly infringing copyright.

This is how the GPL works.

Diego