[Theora] Independent implementations?

[Freun Laven]

<Pine.LNX.4.58.0407132048120.23066 at login.math.uni-bonn.de>
Message-ID: <000501c46953$fb65eea0$60389c3f at computername>

From: "Christoph Lampert"
>On Mon, 12 Jul 2004, Maik Merten wrote:
>> Kyungjoon Lee wrote:
>> > So my question is, is it alright to create and distribute a Theora
>> > codec which isn't based on the Theora code from Xiph.org? If VP3 code
>> to all humanity (remember: Patents can only cause trouble if you don?t
>> have a license). This licencse is not bound to a specific codebase.
>                                   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>Hm, dont' be too sure. If On2 gave a free license to use their
>patented technology to "any person who... utilized the On2 VP3 Codec
>Software...". The complete "VP3 Legal Terms" that the FAQ refers to is:

Here is the original license from the original vp32.tar.gz file that was
originally distributed on On2's vp3.com site.  (The site is still there, as
are the very old binaries, but the source isn't available anymore.  They
don't even reproduce the official license for it!  They just point to the
Theora FAQ.)  (At one time, somebody had fixed a number of bugs in the vp32
codec and had released new source & binaries for it, but I don't know where
that's at anymore.)

Hope it answers some questions.  Although since this isn't official (since I
can't prove this is legit and not something I wrote), it wont help you
legally unless you can get the source directly from On2.com or vp3.com
Which isn't avaible.   And it's not available on the Theora site, either.
(At least not that I found.)

***Begin quote
VP3.2 Public License 0.1

(This license is derived from the Mozilla Public License 1.1 (MPL 1.1) from
Netscape Communications, as found at www.opensource.com.  Material
modifications
have been made through the addition of sections 2.1 (e) and 2.2 (e).)

1. Definitions.

1.0.1. "Commercial Use" means distribution or otherwise making the Covered
Code
available to a third party.

1.1. "Contributor" means each entity that creates or contributes to the
creation
of Modifications.

1.2. "Contributor Version" means the combination of the Original Code, prior
Modifications used by a Contributor, and the Modifications made by that
particular Contributor.

1.3. "Covered Code" means the Original Code or Modifications or the
combination
of the Original Code and Modifications, in each case including portions
thereof.

1.4. "Electronic Distribution Mechanism" means a mechanism generally
accepted in
the software development community for the electronic transfer of data.

1.5. "Executable" means Covered Code in any form other than Source Code.

1.6. "Initial Developer" means the individual or entity identified as the
Initial Developer in the Source Code notice required by Exhibit A.

1.7. "Larger Work" means a work which combines Covered Code or portions
thereof
with code not governed by the terms of this License.

1.8. "License" means this document.

1.8.1. "Licensable" means having the right to grant, to the maximum extent
possible, whether at the time of the initial grant or subsequently acquired,
any
and all of the rights conveyed herein.

1.9. "Modifications" means any addition to or deletion from the substance or
structure of either the Original Code or any previous Modifications. When
Covered Code is released as a series of files, a Modification is:

A. Any addition to or deletion from the contents of a file containing
Original
Code or previous Modifications.

B. Any new file that contains any part of the Original Code or previous
Modifications.

1.10. "Original Code" means Source Code of computer software code which is
described in the Source Code notice required by Exhibit A as Original Code,
and
which, at the time of its release under this License is not already Covered
Code
governed by this License.

1.10.1. "Patent Claims" means any patent claim(s), now owned or hereafter
acquired, including without limitation,  method, process, and apparatus
claims,
in any patent Licensable by grantor.

1.11. "Source Code" means the preferred form of the Covered Code for making
modifications to it, including all modules it contains, plus any associated
interface definition files, scripts used to control compilation and
installation
of an Executable, or source code differential comparisons against either the
Original Code or another well known, available Covered Code of the
Contributor's
choice. The Source Code can be in a compressed or archival form, provided
the
appropriate decompression or de-archiving software is widely available for
no
charge.

1.12. "You" (or "Your")  means an individual or a legal entity exercising
rights
under, and complying with all of the terms of, this License or a future
version
of this License issued under Section 6.1. For legal entities, "You" includes
any
entity which controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with
You.
For purposes of this definition, "control" means (a) the power, direct or
indirect, to cause the direction or management of such entity, whether by
contract or otherwise, or (b) ownership of more than fifty percent (50%) of
the
outstanding shares or beneficial ownership of such entity.

2. Source Code License.

2.1. The Initial Developer Grant.
The Initial Developer hereby grants You a world-wide, royalty-free, non-
exclusive license, subject to third party intellectual property claims:

(a)  under intellectual property rights (other than patent or trademark)
Licensable by Initial Developer to use, reproduce, modify, display, perform,
sublicense and distribute the Original Code (or portions thereof) with or
without Modifications, and/or as part of a Larger Work; and

(b) under Patents Claims infringed by the making, using or selling of
Original
Code, to make, have made, use, practice, sell, and offer for sale, and/or
otherwise dispose of the Original Code (or portions thereof).

(c) the licenses granted in this Section 2.1(a) and (b) are effective on the
date Initial Developer first distributes Original Code under the terms of
this
License.

(d) Notwithstanding Section 2.1(b) above, no patent license is granted: 1)
for
code that You delete from the Original Code; 2) separate from the Original
Code;
or 3) for infringements caused by: i) the modification of the Original Code
or
ii) the combination of the Original Code with other software or devices.

(e) Notwithstanding Sections 2.1 (a), (b), and (c) above, no license
is granted to You, under any intellectual property rights including patent
rights, to modify the code in such a way as to create or accept data that is
incompatible with data produced or accepted by the Original Code.  By way of
example but not limitation, a Modification that adds support for other
compression data such as MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 would be permissible, but only if
the
resulting Larger Work continues to support playback of VP3.2 data.
Modifications that provide only playback or encode support are also
permissible.
However, a Modification that adds support for encoding or playback of any
non-
VP3.2 compatible files or bitstreams without complementary support for VP3.2
encoding or playback would not be permissible, and no license is granted for
such Modification(s).

2.2. Contributor Grant.
Subject to third party intellectual property claims, each Contributor hereby
grants You a world-wide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license

(a)  under intellectual property rights (other than patent or trademark)
Licensable by Contributor, to use, reproduce, modify, display, perform,
sublicense and distribute the Modifications created by such Contributor (or
portions thereof) either on an unmodified basis, with other Modifications,
as
Covered Code and/or as part of a Larger Work; and

(b) under Patent Claims infringed by the making, using, or selling of
Modifications made by that Contributor either alone and/or in combination
with
its Contributor Version (or portions of such combination), to make, use,
sell,
offer for sale, have made, and/or otherwise dispose of: 1) Modifications
made by
that Contributor (or portions thereof); and 2) the combination of
Modifications
made by that Contributor with its Contributor Version (or portions of such
combination).

(c) the licenses granted in Sections 2.2(a) and 2.2(b) are effective on the
date
Contributor first makes Commercial Use of the Covered Code.

(d)    Notwithstanding Section 2.2(b) above, no patent license is granted:
1)
for any code that Contributor has deleted from the Contributor Version; 2)
separate from the Contributor Version;  3)  for infringements caused by: i)
third party modifications of Contributor Version or ii)  the combination of
Modifications made by that Contributor with other software  (except as part
of
the Contributor Version) or other devices; or 4) under Patent Claims
infringed
by Covered Code in the absence of Modifications made by that Contributor.

e) Notwithstanding Sections 2.2 (a), (b), and (c) above, no license
may be granted to You by Contributor, under any intellectual property rights
including patent rights, to modify the code in such a way as to create or
accept
data that is incompatible with data produced or accepted by the Original
Code.
By way of example but not limitation, a Modification that adds support for
other
compression data such as MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 would be permissible, but only if
the
resulting Larger Work continues to support playback of VP3.2 data.
Modifications that provide only playback or encode support are also
permissible.
However, a Modification that adds support for encoding or playback of any
non-
VP3.2 compatible files or bitstreams without complementary support for VP3.2
encoding or playback is not permissible, and no license is granted for such
Modification(s).

3. Distribution Obligations.

3.1. Application of License.
The Modifications which You create or to which You contribute are governed
by
the terms of this License, including without limitation Section 2.2. The
Source
Code version of Covered Code may be distributed only under the terms of this
License or a future version of this License released under Section 6.1, and
You
must include a copy of this License with every copy of the Source Code You
distribute. You may not offer or impose any terms on any Source Code version
that alters or restricts the applicable version of this License or the
recipients' rights hereunder. However, You may include an additional
document
offering the additional rights described in Section 3.5.
3.2. Availability of Source Code.
Any Modification which You create or to which You contribute must be made
available in Source Code form under the terms of this License either on the
same
media as an Executable version or via an accepted Electronic Distribution
Mechanism to anyone to whom you made an Executable version available; and if
made available via Electronic Distribution Mechanism, must remain available
for
at least twelve (12) months after the date it initially became available, or
at
least six (6) months after a subsequent version of that particular
Modification
has been made available to such recipients. You are responsible for ensuring
that the Source Code version remains available even if the Electronic
Distribution Mechanism is maintained by a third party.
3.3. Description of Modifications.
You must cause all Covered Code to which You contribute to contain a file
documenting the changes You made to create that Covered Code and the date of
any
change. You must include a prominent statement that the Modification is
derived,
directly or indirectly, from Original Code provided by the Initial Developer
and
including the name of the Initial Developer in (a) the Source Code, and (b)
in
any notice in an Executable version or related documentation in which You
describe the origin or ownership of the Covered Code.

3.4. Intellectual Property Matters

(a) Third Party Claims.
If Contributor has knowledge that a license under a third party's
intellectual
property rights is required to exercise the rights granted by such
Contributor
under Sections 2.1 or 2.2, Contributor must include a text file with the
Source
Code distribution titled "LEGAL" which describes the claim and the party
making
the claim in sufficient detail that a recipient will know whom to contact.
If
Contributor obtains such knowledge after the Modification is made available
as
described in Section 3.2, Contributor shall promptly modify the LEGAL file
in
all copies Contributor makes available thereafter and shall take other steps
(such as notifying appropriate mailing lists or newsgroups) reasonably
calculated to inform those who received the Covered Code that new knowledge
has
been obtained.

(b) Contributor APIs.
If Contributor's Modifications include an application programming interface
and
Contributor has knowledge of patent licenses which are reasonably necessary
to
implement that API, Contributor must also include this information in the
LEGAL
file.

(c)    Representations.
Contributor represents that, except as disclosed pursuant to Section 3.4(a)
above, Contributor believes that Contributor's Modifications are
Contributor's
original creation(s) and/or Contributor has sufficient rights to grant the
rights conveyed by this License.

3.5. Required Notices.
You must duplicate the notice in Exhibit A in each file of the Source Code.
If
it is not possible to put such notice in a particular Source Code file due
to
its structure, then You must include such notice in a location (such as a
relevant directory) where a user would be likely to look for such a notice.
If
You created one or more Modification(s) You may add your name as a
Contributor
to the notice described in Exhibit A.  You must also duplicate this License
in
any documentation for the Source Code where You describe recipients' rights
or
ownership rights relating to Covered Code.  You may choose to offer, and to
charge a fee for, warranty, support, indemnity or liability obligations to
one
or more recipients of Covered Code. However, You may do so only on Your own
behalf, and not on behalf of the Initial Developer or any Contributor. You
must
make it absolutely clear than any such warranty, support, indemnity or
liability
obligation is offered by You alone, and You hereby agree to indemnify the
Initial Developer and every Contributor for any liability incurred by the
Initial Developer or such Contributor as a result of warranty, support,
indemnity or liability terms You offer.

3.6. Distribution of Executable Versions.
You may distribute Covered Code in Executable form only if the requirements
of
Section 3.1-3.5 have been met for that Covered Code, and if You include a
notice
stating that the Source Code version of the Covered Code is available under
the
terms of this License, including a description of how and where You have
fulfilled the obligations of Section 3.2. The notice must be conspicuously
included in any notice in an Executable version, related documentation or
collateral in which You describe recipients' rights relating to the Covered
Code. You may distribute the Executable version of Covered Code or ownership
rights under a license of Your choice, which may contain terms different
from
this License, provided that You are in compliance with the terms of this
License
and that the license for the Executable version does not attempt to limit or
alter the recipient's rights in the Source Code version from the rights set
forth in this License. If You distribute the Executable version under a
different license You must make it absolutely clear that any terms which
differ
from this License are offered by You alone, not by the Initial Developer or
any
Contributor. You hereby agree to indemnify the Initial Developer and every
Contributor for any liability incurred by the Initial Developer or such
Contributor as a result of any such terms You offer.

3.7. Larger Works.
You may create a Larger Work by combining Covered Code with other code not
governed by the terms of this License and distribute the Larger Work as a
single
product. In such a case, You must make sure the requirements of this License
are
fulfilled for the Covered Code.

4. Inability to Comply Due to Statute or Regulation.
If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this License
with
respect to some or all of the Covered Code due to statute, judicial order,
or
regulation then You must: (a) comply with the terms of this License to the
maximum extent possible; and (b) describe the limitations and the code they
affect. Such description must be included in the LEGAL file described in
Section
3.4 and must be included with all distributions of the Source Code. Except
to
the extent prohibited by statute or regulation, such description must be
sufficiently detailed for a recipient of ordinary skill to be able to
understand
it.

5. Application of this License.
This License applies to code to which the Initial Developer has attached the
notice in Exhibit A and to related Covered Code.

6. Versions of the License.

6.1. New Versions.
On2 Technologies, The Duck Corporation ("On2") may publish revised and/or
new
versions of the License from time to time. Each version will be given a
distinguishing version number.

6.2. Effect of New Versions.
Once Covered Code has been published under a particular version of the
License,
You may always continue to use it under the terms of that version. You may
also
choose to use such Covered Code under the terms of any subsequent version of
the
License published by On2. No one other than On2 has the right to modify the
terms applicable to Covered Code created under this License.

6.3. Derivative Works.
If You create or use a modified version of this License (which you may only
do
in order to apply it to code which is not already Covered Code governed by
this
License), You must (a) rename Your license so that the phrases "VP3.2",
"On2",
or any confusingly similar phrase do not appear in your license (except to
note
that your license differs from this License) and (b) otherwise make it clear
that Your version of the license contains terms which differ from the Vp3.2
Public License. (Filling in the name of the Initial Developer, Original Code
or
Contributor in the notice described in Exhibit A shall not of themselves be
deemed to be modifications of this License.)

7. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY.
COVERED CODE IS PROVIDED UNDER THIS LICENSE ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT
LIMITATION, WARRANTIES THAT THE COVERED CODE IS FREE OF DEFECTS,
MERCHANTABLE,
FIT FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGING. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE
QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE COVERED CODE IS WITH YOU. SHOULD ANY COVERED
CODE
PROVE DEFECTIVE IN ANY RESPECT, YOU (NOT THE INITIAL DEVELOPER OR ANY OTHER
CONTRIBUTOR) ASSUME THE COST OF ANY NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR
CORRECTION.
THIS DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY CONSTITUTES AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THIS LICENSE.
NO
USE OF ANY COVERED CODE IS AUTHORIZED HEREUNDER EXCEPT UNDER THIS
DISCLAIMER.

8. TERMINATION.

8.1.  This License and the rights granted hereunder will terminate
automatically
if You fail to comply with terms herein and fail to cure such breach within
30
days of becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses to the Covered Code
which
are properly granted shall survive any termination of this License.
Provisions
which, by their nature, must remain in effect beyond the termination of this
License shall survive.

8.2.  If You initiate litigation by asserting a patent infringement claim
(excluding declatory judgment actions) against Initial Developer or a
Contributor (the Initial Developer or Contributor against whom You file such
action is referred to as "Participant")  alleging that:

(a)  such Participant's Contributor Version directly or indirectly infringes
any
patent, then any and all rights granted by such Participant to You under
Sections 2.1 and/or 2.2 of this License shall, upon 60 days notice from
Participant terminate prospectively, unless if within 60 days after receipt
of
notice You either: (i)  agree in writing to pay Participant a mutually
agreeable
reasonable royalty for Your past and future use of Modifications made by
such
Participant, or (ii) withdraw Your litigation claim with respect to the
Contributor Version against such Participant.  If within 60 days of notice,
a
reasonable royalty and payment arrangement are not mutually agreed upon in
writing by the parties or the litigation claim is not withdrawn, the rights
granted by Participant to You under Sections 2.1 and/or 2.2 automatically
terminate at the expiration of the 60 day notice period specified above.

(b)  any software, hardware, or device, other than such Participant's
Contributor Version, directly or indirectly infringes any patent, then any
rights granted to You by such Participant under Sections 2.1(b) and 2.2(b)
are
revoked effective as of the date You first made, used, sold, distributed, or
had
made, Modifications made by that Participant.

8.3.  If You assert a patent infringement claim against Participant alleging
that such Participant's Contributor Version directly or indirectly infringes
any
patent where such claim is resolved (such as by license or settlement) prior
to
the initiation of patent infringement litigation, then the reasonable value
of
the licenses granted by such Participant under Sections 2.1 or 2.2 shall be
taken into account in determining the amount or value of any payment or
license.

8.4.  In the event of termination under Sections 8.1 or 8.2 above,  all end
user
license agreements (excluding distributors and resellers) which have been
validly granted by You or any distributor hereunder prior to termination
shall
survive termination.

9. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY, WHETHER TORT (INCLUDING
NEGLIGENCE), CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, SHALL YOU, THE INITIAL DEVELOPER, ANY
OTHER
CONTRIBUTOR, OR ANY DISTRIBUTOR OF COVERED CODE, OR ANY SUPPLIER OF ANY OF
SUCH
PARTIES, BE LIABLE TO ANY PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY CHARACTER INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION,
DAMAGES
FOR LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, OR ANY
AND
ALL OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, EVEN IF SUCH PARTY SHALL HAVE BEEN
INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
SHALL
NOT APPLY TO LIABILITY FOR DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY RESULTING FROM SUCH
PARTY'S
NEGLIGENCE TO THE EXTENT APPLICABLE LAW PROHIBITS SUCH LIMITATION. SOME
JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THIS EXCLUSION AND LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO
YOU.

10. U.S. GOVERNMENT END USERS.
The Covered Code is a "commercial item," as that term is defined in 48
C.F.R.
2.101 (Oct. 1995), consisting of "commercial computer software" and
"commercial
computer software documentation," as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. 12.212
(Sept. 1995). Consistent with 48 C.F.R. 12.212 and 48 C.F.R. 227.7202-1
through
227.7202-4 (June 1995), all U.S. Government End Users acquire Covered Code
with
only those rights set forth herein.

11. MISCELLANEOUS.
This License represents the complete agreement concerning the subject matter
hereof. If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such
provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it
enforceable.
This License shall be governed by the law provisions of New York(except to
the
extent applicable law, if any, provides otherwise), excluding its
conflict-of-
law provisions. With respect to disputes in which at least one party is a
citizen of, or an entity chartered or registered to do business in the
United
States of America, any litigation relating to this License shall be subject
to
the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts of the Southern District of New York,
with venue lying in New York County, New York, with the losing party
responsible
for costs, including without limitation, court costs and reasonable
attorneys'
fees and expenses. The application of the United Nations Convention on
Contracts
for the International Sale of Goods is expressly excluded. Any law or
regulation
which provides that the language of a contract shall be construed against
the
drafter shall not apply to this License.

12. RESPONSIBILITY FOR CLAIMS.
As between Initial Developer and the Contributors, each party is responsible
for
claims and damages arising, directly or indirectly, out of its utilization
of
rights under this License and You agree to work with Initial Developer and
Contributors to distribute such responsibility on an equitable basis.
Nothing
herein is intended or shall be deemed to constitute any admission of
liability.

13. MULTIPLE-LICENSED CODE.
Initial Developer may designate portions of the Covered Code as "Multiple-
Licensed".  "Multiple-Licensed" means that the Initial Developer permits you
to
utilize portions of the Covered Code under Your choice of the NPL or the
alternative licenses, if any, specified by the Initial Developer in the file
described in Exhibit A.

EXHIBIT A -VP3.2 Public License.
"The contents of this file are subject to the VP3.2 Public License Version
0.1
(the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the
License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
http://www.vp3.com/license/
Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis,
WITHOUT WARRANTY OF
ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific
language
governing rights and
limitations under the License.
The Original Code is ______________________________________.
The Initial Developer of the Original Code is ________________________.
Portions
created by
______________________ are Copyright (C) ______ _______________________.
All
Rights
Reserved.
Contributor(s): ______________________________________.
Alternatively, the contents of this file may be used under the terms of the
_____ license (the  "[___] License"), in which case the provisions of
[______]
License are applicable  instead of those above.  If you wish to allow use of
your version of this file only under the terms of the [____] License and not
to
allow others to use your version of this file under the MPL, indicate your
decision by deleting  the provisions above and replace  them with the notice
and
other provisions required by the [___] License.  If you do not delete the
provisions above, a recipient may use your version of this file under either
the
MPL or the [___] License."

[NOTE: The text of this Exhibit A may differ slightly from the text of the
notices in the Source Code files of the Original Code. You should use the
text
of this Exhibit A rather than the text found in the Original Code Source
Code
for Your Modifications.]
***End quote