Re: [LAD] GPL and plugins

On Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 1:23 PM, Chris Cannam
<cannam@email-addr-hidden-day-breakfast.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 12:13 PM, Victor Lazzarini
> <Victor.Lazzarini@email-addr-hidden> wrote:
>> A simple question: can GPL plugins be loaded into non-free hosts?
>
> First off -- you can _do_ anything you like with a GPL plugin, the
> question is whether you could legally redistribute it.  Beyond that, I
> don't think there is a single answer to this -- I think in practice it
> would depend on whether the one thing (plugin or host) would be seen
> by the reasonable person to be a derivative work of the other.  If the
> plugin only worked with a single host, or the plugin was necessary in
> order to use the host, then it might be.  If it used a well-defined
> API supported by multiple hosts, perhaps predating either of the host
> or plugin in question, then it probably wouldn't.
>
> As a concrete example I think a GPL VST plugin would be perfectly
> fine, provided of course that it used none of Steinberg's SDK code.
> There are GPL'd VST hosts out there, so clearly the plugin does not
> depend on a non-free host and can be happily distributed under the
> GPL.  What you choose to do with it once you've received it is up to
> you -- the GPL only covers distribution -- so yes, I would think you
> could indeed make, distribute, and use such a plugin.
>
>
> Chris
> _______________________________________________

Hello,

Wikipedia has interesting information about this topic, with the
differents opinions available on this particular topic. The main thing
it explains is that there's nothing sure about this :-/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License#Linking_and_derived_works

--
Lta.
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