Installer, default installation: The installer (Microsoft Windows and MacOSX) and the default installation (GNU/Linux) contain and install the minimal default installation. At install time or later, the downloading of optional components is also possible, but read on for certain legal cautions you might want to take. All downloads are from the freedesktop.org website, for registered/approved users only.

Licensing of SDK: Gstreamer SDK minimal default installation only contains packages which are licensed under the GNU LGPL license v2.1.  This license gives you the Freedom to use, modify, make copies of the software either in the original or in a modified form, provided that the software you redistribute is licensed under the same licensing terms. This only extends to the software itself and modified versions of it, but you are free to link the LGPL software as a library used by other software under whichever license. In other words, it is a weak copyleft license.

Therefore, it is possible to use the SDK to build applications that are then distributed under a different license, including a proprietary one, provided that reverse engineering is not prohibited for debugging modifications purposes. Only the pieces of the SDK that are under the LGPL need to be kept under the LGPL, and the corresponding source code must be distributed along with the application (or an irrevocable offer to do so for at least three years from distribution). Please consult section 6 of the LGPL for further details as to what the corresponding source code must contain.

Some portions of the minimal default installation may be under different licenses, which are both more liberal than the LGPL (they are less strict conditions for granting the license) and compatible with the LGPL.  This is advised locally.

Optional packages: There are two types of optional packages, which are under a different license or have other issues concerning patentability (or both).

GPL code: Part of the optional packages are under the GNU GPL v2 or v3. This means that you cannot link the GPL software in a program unless the same program is also under the GPL, but you are invited to seek competent advice on how this works in your precise case and design choices. GPL is called “strong copyleft” because the condition to distributed under the same license has the largest possible scope and extends to all derivative works.

Patents: Certain software, and in particular software that implements multimedia standard formats such as Mp3, MPEG 2 video and audio, h.264, MPEG 4 audio and video,  AC3, etc, can have patent issues. In certain countries patents are granted on software and even software-only solution are by and large considered patentable and are patented (such as in the United States).  In certain others, patents on pure software solutions are formally prohibited, but granted (this is the case of Europe), and in others again are neither allowed nor granted.

It is up to you to make sure that in the countries where the SDK is used, products are made using it and product are distributed, a license from the applicable patent holders is required or not.  Receiving the SDK – or links to other downloadable software – does not provide any license expressed or implied over these patents, except in very limited conditions where the license so provides. No representation is made.

In certain cases, the optional packages are distributed only as source code.  It is up the receiver to make sure that in the applicable circumstances compiling the same code for a given platform or distributing the object code is an act that infringes one or more patents.

Software is as-is: All software and the entire SDK is provided as-is, without any warranty whatsoever. The individual licenses have particular language disclaiming liability: we invite you to read all of them. Should you need a warranty on the fact that software works as intended or have any kind of indemnification, you have the option to subscribe a software maintenance agreement with a company or entity that is in that business. Fluendo and Collabora, as well as some other companies, provide software maintenance agreements under certain conditions, you are invited to contact them in order to receive further details and discuss of the commercial terms.

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