VLC and the Apple App Store

On Friday, Apple removed the open source VLC media player from the App Store. It is believed (though not known for sure) that this happened as the result of a copyright complaint made two months ago by a developer named Rémi Denis-Courmont. A professor told my class last week that if we ever wanted to get in trouble, we just had to give an opinion on open source software. Despite that warning, here is why I think that Apple’s distribution of VLC does not violate its license.

About VLC

VLC is an alternative media player that plays a wide range of video formats and is available for all desktop operating systems. It is developed by the VideoLAN team and the source code is freely available through their website. A third party developer (Applidium) used this source code to develop a mobile version of VLC. As was required by the GPL (see below), they made the source code for their modifications available on their own website.

About the GPL

VLC is released under the GNU Public License (GPL) version 2. The GPL is a “copyleft” licenses. It provides everyone who receives a copy of the software with the right to use, modify and redistribute the software however they see fit. However, anyone who redistributes the software (or a derivative) must do so under the same license. Because of this, the GPL is often referred to as a viral license; the use of any GPL code in a software project attaches the license to the entire project. GPL software does not need to be free of charge, but it often is because the license gives away the right to control copying and redistribution after sale.

The GPL also forbids anyone who redistributes the software or a derivative work from attaching any additional restrictions:

6. Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on the Program), the recipient automatically receives a license from the original licensor to copy, distribute or modify the Program subject to these terms and conditions. You may not impose any further restrictions on the recipients’ exercise of the rights granted herein….

VLC, GPL, and the App Store

The App Store Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) impose restrictions that affect how apps may be copied and redistributed. The Terms govern your use of the App Store distribution services (“Services”) and set out Product Usage Rules. The Product Usage Rules set out how a Product downloaded from the Services may be used and warn you that any other use may be copyright infringement. The Free Software Foundation (which created the GPL) has stated two reasons why the GPL (v2) is incompatible with the App Store Terms and Conditions: (1) you are required to accept the Terms, (2) the Product Usage Rules limit your use of the downloaded app. I believe, however, that this mischaracterizes the Terms in two ways.

First, the App Store Terms of Use apply to your use of the App Store distribution service and the iTunes software on your computer. The requirement that you accept the terms occurs prior to distribution and is akin to requiring that someone pay for the initial distribution; it is not a restriction on the right to copy, distribute or modify the program. Once you have a copy of the Product, you have all the rights in the GPL because the Terms state that your use of the Product is subject to the license agreement entered into by the developer and the user (and the Product Usage Rules). What you may not have is the technical ability to exercise these rights. However, the GPL does not require a distributor or a third-party (Apple) to help the user exercise their rights. In other words, Apple cannot attach a license to VLC prohibiting the user from modifying it and loading it onto their phone, but it is fine that iTunes doesn’t provide that functionality. Legal and technical restrictions on equipment and software other than the GPL-licensed Product may have a practical effect on your ability to exercise your rights without violating the license agreement.

Second, the Product Usage Rules are permissive, not restrictive. This was not true when the FSF posted their opinion. Currently, though, the Product Usage Rules permit users to download and sync Products for personal use on all their iOS devices. They do not prohibit you from copying the Product to another person’s device or modifying it if the Product license permits that. In their current form, the Product Usage Rules set a minimum set of rights that a Product must allow. For example, they prevent a Product from being distributed with a license that only covers a single device.

The App Store Terms are a divisive issue in the very idealogical open source community. However, I do not think that distributing a GPL app via the App Store and in accordance with their Terms is a violation of the GPL version 2. Version 3 of the GPL contains special provisions requiring that the developer provide sufficient “installation information” to allow a user to run modified versions of the software. It may not be possible for an app licensed under GPLv3 to be distributed via the App Store due to the practical restrictions discussed above.

For all its popularity in open source software, the GPL has not been the subject of much litigation. It is drafted in very general terms so that it may be applied to many different projects. Thus it is very hard to predict how a court case would turn out. It’s not surprising that Apple doesn’t want to take any chances.