Installer, default installation: The installer (Microsoft Windows
and MacOSX) and the default installation (GNU/Linux) contain and
install the minimal default installation. At install time or later,
the downloading of optional components is also possible, but read on
for certain legal cautions you might want to take. All downloads are
from the freedesktop.org website, for registered/approved users only.

Licensing of GStreamer: GStreamer minimal default installation only
contains packages which are licensed under the GNU LGPL license v2.1.
This license gives you the Freedom to use, modify, make copies of the
software either in the original or in a modified form, provided that
the software you redistribute is licensed under the same licensing
terms. This only extends to the software itself and modified versions
of it, but you are free to link the LGPL software as a library used by
other software under whichever license. In other words, it is a weak
copyleft license.

Therefore, it is possible to use GStreamer to build applications that
are then distributed under a different license, including a
proprietary one, provided that reverse engineering is not prohibited
for debugging modifications purposes. Only the pieces of GStreamer that
are under the LGPL need to be kept under the LGPL, and the
corresponding source code must be distributed along with the
application (or an irrevocable offer to do so for at least three years
from distribution). Please consult section 6 of the LGPL for further
details as to what the corresponding source code must contain.

Some portions of the minimal default installation may be under
different licenses, which are both more liberal than the LGPL (they
are less strict conditions for granting the license) and compatible
with the LGPL.  This is advised locally.

Optional packages: There are two types of optional packages, which are
under a different license or have other issues concerning
patentability (or both).

GPL code: Part of the optional packages are under the GNU GPL v2 or
v3. This means that you cannot link the GPL software in a program
unless the same program is also under the GPL, but you are invited to
seek competent advice on how this works in your precise case and
design choices. GPL is called “strong copyleft” because the
condition to distributed under the same license has the largest
possible scope and extends to all derivative works.

Patents: Certain software, and in particular software that implements
multimedia standard formats such as Mp3, MPEG 2 video and audio,
h.264, MPEG 4 audio and video,  AC3, etc, can have patent issues. In
certain countries patents are granted on software and even
software-only solution are by and large considered patentable and are
patented (such as in the United States).  In certain others, patents
on pure software solutions are formally prohibited, but granted (this
is the case of Europe), and in others again are neither allowed nor
granted.

It is up to you to make sure that in the countries where GStreamer is
used, products are made using it and product are distributed, a
license from the applicable patent holders is required or not.
Receiving GStreamer – or links to other downloadable software –
does not provide any license expressed or implied over these patents,
except in very limited conditions where the license so provides. No
representation is made.

In certain cases, the optional packages are distributed only as source
code.  It is up the receiver to make sure that in the applicable
circumstances compiling the same code for a given platform or
distributing the object code is an act that infringes one or more
patents.

Software is as-is: All software and GStreamer is provided as-is,
without any warranty whatsoever. The individual licenses have
particular language disclaiming liability: we invite you to read all
of them. Should you need a warranty on the fact that software works as
intended or have any kind of indemnification, you have the option to
subscribe a software maintenance agreement with a company or entity
that is in that business. Fluendo and Collabora, as well as some other
companies, provide software maintenance agreements under certain
conditions, you are invited to contact them in order to receive
further details and discuss of the commercial terms.

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