Video fanatics were thrilled when an iOS version of VLC made its way to the App Store recently. Finally, users could watch all manner of videos in a number of codecs from their iPhones or iPads, just like they do with the (ever-popular) VLC desktop clients. That may not last forever, though: a wrench has now been thrown into the mix by one of the many VLC code contributors, leading to a complex dispute over VLC's GNU Public License (GPL) and whether an app released through the App Store—or any mobile OS store, for that matter—violates that license.

Many of our readers are already quite familiar with VLC—the software is available for many platforms as open source through the GPLv2. VLC is promoted and managed by the nonprofit association VideoLAN, and the code itself is constantly being developed and improved by hundreds of programmers around the world. So, how did the VLC iOS app get into this mess, and what's really going on?

How VLC got on the App Store

The VLC app for iOS was developed by a mobile company called Applidium, who worked for free to port the code to iOS and offers the app through the App Store at no charge. VideoLAN gave the company permission to use the VLC name on the app as well as its own company name, so long as Applidium opened up all the written source code for the app—as per GPLv2.

The original plan was to have VideoLAN submit the app to the App Store, but due to complications during the submittal process (VideoLAN had a hard time getting a developer account, apparently due to its status as a nonprofit organization), VideoLAN gave Applidium its blessing to submit it under Applidium's own account. The app was approved and showed up on the App Store in late September, and has been available for free since then.

The dispute

One of the aforementioned programmers who contributed to the original VLC code is Rémi Denis-Courmont. He made a post on his personal blog—mirrored at Planet VideoLAN—claiming that the App Store rules do not jibe with GPLv2. Basically, Denis-Courmont believes that because VLC is open source and the App Store imposes its own licensing (and DRM) terms on top of it, they're fundamentally incompatible. Denis-Courmont filed a copyright complaint with Apple over the app, which was then passed onto Applidium.

(The fact that his post was mirrored on VideoLAN's own site led to some confusion that VideoLAN itself had filed the complaint, but it has since been updated with a disclaimer that the post is not VideoLAN's official stance on the topic.)

Denis-Courmont's tone in an e-mail to the VLC developer mailing list indicates that he has a beef with the App Store itself, and is taking it out on Applidium and the VLC app. He asserts that the likely outcome from his complaint would be that Apple would pull the app, just as it did with another open source app (GNU Go) earlier this year.

"Thus, users of iOS-based devices would be deprived of VLC media player, as a consequence of the intransigently tight control Apple maintains over its mobile applications platform," Denis-Courmont wrote. "[B]latant license violation cannot be tolerated at any rate. Concerned users are advised to look for application on more open mobile platforms for the time being."

VideoLAN and the legal gray area

For its part, VideoLAN has not made an official statement on the matter. However, VideoLAN association president Jean-Baptiste Kempf offered his own analysis of GPLv2 and the newest version of the App Store rules in a separate e-mail to the mailing list, noting that the terms aren't as clear or simple as they seem. Kempf notes that the App Store terms don't block open source software, and in fact many of the (latest) rules allow for GPLv2 software.

One questionable point of contention is whether GPLv2 is a "valid end user license agreement" (VEULA). If so, then the App Store license doesn't need to overlay on top of it, and GPLv2 is left intact. If not, then Apple's license does apply and GPLv2 has a problem—that is, unless the terms change for one or both parties.

This is the part that could cause issues, but no one is exactly sure, and there are no lawyers involved yet. It seems clear, however, that Kempf is open to the idea of working out the legal kinks—if there are any—to try and keep VLC on the App Store. Though he acknowledges that the whole thing is "kind of grey area," he points out that, "[i]f this really matters, submitters of the iOS application on the AppStore can add a very simple VEULA that is compatible to the GPLv2."

Beyond Apple's App Store

To Applidium, the whole thing is a mountain made out of a molehill, and there's more at stake than just VLC on the App Store.

"The way I see it, we're not violating anyone's freedom. We worked for free, opened all our source code, and the app is available for free for anyone to download," Applidium cofounder Romain Goyet told Ars. "People are enjoying a nice free and open source video player on the AppStore, and some people are trying to ruin it in the name of 'freedom.'"

Bigger than that, though, is the fact that this licensing question doesn't just come into play with Apple—other mobile app stores have similar terms that will make it difficult for software like VLC to branch out, unless VLC's own license gets a tweak or two.

"The matter is of utter importance for VLC in general," Goyet said. "There's the Mac App Store coming along. There are Android app stores. It's very likely that there will be Windows app stores. And all of those (including the Android one) raise exactly the same problem as the iOS App Store. So should the app be decided non-appstore-compatible, it would probably mean a short-term death for VLC."

For now, the iOS app remains on Apple's App Store; Goyet says that Applidium gets to decide (for the time being, anyway) how long it will stay there. That said, if you don't already have it, it might be a good idea to grab the app now in the event Applidium or VideoLAN decides that it needs to come down.

Photograph by Patrick Feller