[whatwg] Google's use of FFmpeg in Chromium and Chrome Was: Re: MPEG-1 subset proposal for HTML5 video codec

[Geoffrey Sneddon]

On 2 Jun 2009, at 02:58, Chris DiBona wrote:

> One participant quoted one of the examples from the LGPL 2.1, which
> says "For example, if a patent license would not permit royalty-free
> redistribution of the Library by all those who receive copies directly
> or indirectly through you, then the only way you could satisfy both it
> and this License would be to refrain entirely from distribution of the
> Library."

I'm still unclear as to how this does not apply to Chrome's case. If I  
get a copy of Chrome, you are bound (by the LGPL) to provide me with a  
copy of the source ffmpeg, and I must be able to redistribute that in  
either binary or source form. I would, however, get in trouble for not  
having paid patent fees for doing so. Hence, as that example  
concludes, you cannot distribute ffmpeg whatsoever.


--
Geoffrey Sneddon
<http://gsnedders.com/>