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Copyright: fix -Dgpl=false description
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Even with -Dgpl=false, some files including the documentation,
mpv.desktop, and some key binding files are still being built.
This means that mpv as a whole might not be LGPL even when the
program itself is LGPL.

Also the description that mpv is licensed under LGPLv2.1+
"if built with the -Dgpl=false configure switch" is incorrect
as it appears to give a license grant as long as the switch is
used, regardless if there is a bug in the build system that
results in a GPL file being compiled in.

Change the description to clarify this.
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na-na-hi authored and sfan5 committed Oct 25, 2024
1 parent 246be60 commit 9af491f
Showing 1 changed file with 15 additions and 4 deletions.
19 changes: 15 additions & 4 deletions Copyright
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -2,9 +2,20 @@ mpv is a fork of mplayer2, which is a fork of MPlayer.

mpv as a whole is licensed under the GNU General Public License GPL version 2
or later (called GPLv2+ in this document, see LICENSE.GPL for full license
text) by default, or the GNU Lesser General Public License LGPL version 2 or
later (LGPLv2.1+ in this document, see LICENSE.LGPL for full license text) if
built with the -Dgpl=false configure switch.
text) by default. The mpv program is licensed the GNU Lesser General Public
License LGPL version 2 or later (LGPLv2.1+ in this document, see LICENSE.LGPL
for full license text) if built without using any GPL only files.
The -Dgpl=false configure switch is provided as a convenience for excluding
the GPL only files listed below from the build process.

However, do note that the build system is provided "as is" and using the
-Dgpl=false configure switch does not in itself create a LGPLv2.1+ license
grant.

Additionally, some non-program parts, such as the documentation and some config
files listed below, are still built and licensed under their respective licenses
even when -Dgpl=false is used. Please consult GPLv2+ and LGPLv2.1+ license texts
for further details on how to distribute these files.

Most source files are LGPLv2.1+ or GPLv2+, but some files are available under
more liberal licenses, such as BSD, MIT, ISC, and possibly others. Look at the
Expand All @@ -26,7 +37,7 @@ See DOCS/contribute.md for binding rules wrt. licensing for contributions.
For information about authors and contributors, consult the git log, which
contains the complete SVN and CVS history as well.

mpv can be built as LGPLv2.1+ with the -Dgpl=false configure option. To add a
mpv can be built as LGPLv2.1+ without using any GPL only files. To add a
LGPL mode to mpv, MPlayer code had to be relicensed from GPLv2+ to LGPLv2.1+ by
asking the MPlayer authors for permission. Since permission could not be
obtained from everyone, LGPL mode disables the following features, some of them
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