http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg08607.htmlThe facts here.
1. They are using ffmpeg. ffmpeg falls under GPL. GPL requires that the source code of a product be distributed with it.
2. They do not provide the source code.
They are violating the GPL, there really is no question about it. According to the thread/mailing list I link above, it also uses Qt, but provides no information that it's using it, the use of which is also governed by the GPL. It also steals code from memtest86. (avformat-52.dll) contains resource strings and code from memtest86.
Their x264 codec (marked as "cuda support" by the program) is stolen from VLC.
i hope their statement re copyright is a valid and true one
It's not. As above: they use various bits of other Open Source projects with the sole purpose of trying to glue them together and make a profit off the work of others.
If you want to confirm that the copyright is not "registered" you can easily search for registered copyrights- they are a public record. Of course, if they had registered the copyright, they would have the copyright registration ID on the about box as well.
So, just to reiterate:
1. The product does use GPL code. There is no question about this, and it's easily confirmed by just looking at the resources and even just by way of the libraries shipped with the product.
2. the GPL license requires you make source available to your customers with the product or to include a written offer. This is not optional, and they do NOT do this. Violation 1. They don't even mention anything about GPL, of which the entire GPL license is supposed to be included withe any product that uses GPL code. Violation 2.
This is not exactly atypical, about 80% of the "Video converters" and "DVD rippers" you can find online do this; they outright steal GPL'd code, ignore the license, paste it into a GUI (almost always made using yet another Open Source product) and then try to pass it of as their own (just look at the EULA for one of their programs- does it mention anything about the GPL? Of course not. Heaven forbid people find out they can download and use a
Free Video converter, rather than buy or use this shareware.
THAT IS... by the way, what it is. It's a shareware product. Giveaway of the Day doesn't give away free programs, these things normally cost money. That's Violation 3, since the GPL specifically states that you can only charge, at most, for the cost of distribution media.