VLC for iPhone & iPad to be Removed from the App Store?
![VLC for iPhone & iPad to be Removed from the App Store? [VLC Says Apple Is Apparently Infringing its Copyright; Expects iOS Apps to be Removed]](http://nexus404.com/Blog/thumbnailimages/alt/VLC-for-iPhoneTFTSThumb220153.jpg)
We weren’t expecting VLC for iPad and iPhone to be approved in the first place, and these apps have probably been granted access to the App Store following Apple’s recent change of terms and conditions that made it easier for lots of apps to get accepted.
But now it looks like the future of the popular video player is in peril, at least when it comes to Apple’s iOS platform, as VLC has complained to Apple by way of a formal notification of copyright infringement.
What is the problem you ask? Well VLC is an open source program, no matter what OS we’re talking about, and therefore it is distributed under the GNU General Public License. The iOS version of VLC, created by Applidium for iPad and iPhone is sold under Apple’s iTunes Terms and Conditions. How is that a bad thing? Well, those Apple terms and conditions prevent any user from installing the app on more than 5 devices. That’s something VLC can’t stand apparently and that’s what lead to Remi Denis Courmont, one of VLC’s main developers to send that notification to Apple.
How many users will want to install VLC for iPad or iPhone on more that 5 iOS devices? Probably not that many, but that doesn’t mean VLC will drop the complaint. Apple on the other hand, can’t just modify the App Store Terms and Conditions every time someone complains about them. And someone will always complain about the way Apple is doing stuff particularly when it comes to iOS devices.
So the most probably outcome is VLC being removed from the App Store in the very near future. In case you love VLC for iPhone and iPad, make sure you download your copy as soon as possible, in case you haven’t done so already (at the time I am writing these lines, both VLC iOS apps are available in the App Store, still free.)
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What a pity!
many video only can play on my ipad itunes which supported narrow formats, so, I missed some nice videos, lucky, I rely on the Aneesoft ipad video converter fro mac or win, which make me can watch all kinds of video. but the software need to rely on my PC. If the new VLC comes to my ipad, i think it will be more convenient.
What a pity!many video only can play on my ipad itunes which supported narrow formats, so, I missed some nice videos, lucky, I rely on the Aneesoft ipad video converter fro mac or win, which make me can watch all kinds of video. but the software need to rely on my PC. If the new VLC comes to my ipad, i think it will be more convenient.
http://www.aneesoft.com/win-ipad-video-converter.html
“How many users will want to install VLC for iPad or iPhone on more that 5 iOS devices? Probably not that many, but that doesn’t mean VLC will drop the complaint.”
That isn’t the primary complaint. The GNU GPL was specifically designed to give users the freedom to, among other things, modify the program’s source code and run the modified program on their device — something which Apple specifically forbids.
If I don’t like something about VLC on my PC, I can fix it and run my changed version (without having to convince anyone else that it is a good fix). Not so with iPhone.
You might say “big deal, how many people are going to change the program”, but that is not the point. The point is, this right is one of the fundamental agreements made between the developers and users of the software. When anyone contributes code to VLC, they do so with the understanding that users can modify and run the code as they wish — anyone who prevents users from exercising that right is violating copyright.
The developers are not asking Apple to change their licensing terms (I agree with you, and so do the developers, that isn’t going to happen). They are simply asking Apple to stop violating their copyright by ceasing distribution of the app.
“How many users will want to install VLC for iPad or iPhone on more that 5 iOS devices? Probably not that many, but that doesn’t mean VLC will drop the complaint.”
That isn’t the primary complaint. The GNU GPL was specifically designed to give users the freedom to, among other things, modify the program’s source code and run the modified program on their device — something which Apple specifically forbids.
If I don’t like something about VLC on my PC, I can fix it and run my changed version (without having to convince anyone else that it is a good fix). Not so with iPhone.
You might say “big deal, how many people are going to change the program”, but that is not the point. The point is, this right is one of the fundamental agreements made between the developers and users of the software. When anyone contributes code to VLC, they do so with the understanding that users can modify and run the code as they wish — anyone who prevents users from exercising that right is violating copyright.
The developers are not asking Apple to change their licensing terms (I agree with you, and so do the developers, that isn’t going to happen). They are simply asking Apple to stop violating their copyright by ceasing distribution of the app.