Re: [Audacity-devel] an answer from steinberg about using ASIO SKD

[Dominic M. <do...@au...>]

Just to clarify: Steinberg's license is not draconian; it is quite =20
open compared to most Microsoft licenses!  They allow anyone to =20
download their code and distribute binaries that make use of that =20
code.  Unfortunately, they don't let anyone redistribute their code, =20
even unmodified, and that's the problem.

The GPL requires that we include ALL source code needed to build =20
Audacity.  That means that if the Audacity binary includes ASIO =20
support, we must also distribute source code that includes the full =20
ASIO SDK.  But Steinberg specifically disallows this.

If Audacity were a smaller, self-contained project, the answer would =20
be simple: relicense Audacity under a modified GPL that adds an =20
exception for ASIO.  The GPL FAQ specifically instructs you how to do =20=

this.  There are two reasons we could never do this, though:

1. We depend on several other GPL libraries, and if we changed our =20
license we would no longer be able to link to them.

2. We can't relicense existing code without getting permission from =20
everyone who has contributed to Audacity.  This would be a challenge, =20=

and if even a single person disagreed we'd have to either give up, or =20=

rewrite all of their parts of the code.

I do wonder what the Steinberg rep meant by "the ASIO SDK has been =20
opened", though.  Is there a chance that anything was changed =20
recently that we don't know about?

Vasja, if you would be willing to follow up, could you ask =20
specifically about the GPL and the ability to redistribute the ASIO =20
SDK source code (unmodified)?

- Dominic

On Jan 6, 2006, at 11:26 AM, Markus Meyer wrote:
> Hi Vasja,
>
> you asked the wrong question. Of course, ASIO can be "used in an =20
> open source project", the question is, whether binaries of a =20
> program can be distributed. This is what matters for the user, and =20
> depends on the license of the open source project itself. The =20
> "agreement" Eckhard talks about is incompatible with the GPL (the =20
> license Audacity uses). So as I already said, this means, no, we =20
> can't distribute binaries with ASIO code in it.
>
>
> Markus
>
> Vasja Lebar schrieb:
>
>
>> I've asked steinberg about using ASIO in an open source project. =20
>> This is the reply I've got. It's a brief answer to a short =20
>> question. ;)
>>
>> Vasja
>>
>> in...@st... wrote:
>>
>>
>>>
>>> Hello!
>>>
>>> The ASIO SDK has been opened to allow just that. Please follow =20
>>> the agreement but you can use it the way you want.
>>>
>>> Mit freundlichen Gruessen/Best regards,
>>> Eckhard Doll
>>>
>>> **************************************************************
>>> +++ PLEASE ALWAYS KEEP THE WHOLE
>>> CORRESPONDENCE ATTACHED TO THE E-MAIL
>>>
>>> +++ BITTE IMMER GESAMTEN VORGANG DER
>>> KORRESPONDENZ DER ANTWORT ANH=C4NGEN
>>> ***************************************************************
>>> Become a member of the Steinberg community at
>>> http://forum.cubase.net and http://forum.nuendo.com
>>> for technical support and interaction with other users.
>>> Please make use of the forums as an adequate
>>> alternative to the regular email support!
>>>
>>> Werden Sie f=FCr technischen Support und den
>>> Austausch mit anderen Nutzern Teil der
>>> Steinberg Community unter http://forum.cubase.net
>>> und http://forum.nuendo.com. Bitte nutzen Sie diese
>>> Foren als vollwertige Alternative zum regulaeren
>>> Emailsupport!
>>>
>>> ***************************************************************
>>> Info Service - Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH
>>> Neuer Hoeltigbaum 22-32 22143 Hamburg - Germany
>>> ***************************************************************
>>>
>>>
>>> Vasja Lebar <vas...@si...> wrote on 06.01.2006 14:25:50:
>>>
>>> > Hi,
>>> >
>>> > I have a question about using ASIO SDK. Can I use ASIO SDK in a =20=

>>> open
>>> > source project (Audacity)? I have read the License Agreement, =20
>>> but I'm no
>>> > expert so I'm asking you. If I can use it, are there any =20
>>> restrictions?
>>> >
>>> > Best regards,
>>> > Vasja Lebar
>>> >
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------
>> This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. Do you grep through =20=

>> log files
>> for problems?  Stop!  Download the new AJAX search engine that makes
>> searching your log files as easy as surfing the  web.  DOWNLOAD =20
>> SPLUNK!
>> http://ads.osdn.com/?ad_id=3D7637&alloc_id=3D16865&op=3Dclick
>> _______________________________________________
>> Audacity-devel mailing list
>> Aud...@li...
>> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/audacity-devel
>>
>>
>
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------
> This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. Do you grep through =20
> log files
> for problems?  Stop!  Download the new AJAX search engine that makes
> searching your log files as easy as surfing the  web.  DOWNLOAD =20
> SPLUNK!
> http://ads.osdn.com/?ad_id=3D7637&alloc_id=3D16865&op=3Dclick
> _______________________________________________
> Audacity-devel mailing list
> Aud...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/audacity-devel
>