![]() GPL is strictly concerned with modification and distribution of software and code. ![]() ![]() So the question remains, how does the Oculus license restrict a GPL application using the ovrlib? The restriction of the Oculus license is on the use of unofficial hardware which the GPL does not cover or even mention at all. I've even seen what appears to be contradictory statements in the GNU FAQ itself regarding using proprietary libraries in a GPLd application. It's not surprising that the various number of interpretations of the GPL license is almost equal to the amount of people that know anything about it. It's not like natural point, the makers of trackir, who require a copyrighted and trademarked haiku poem to communicate with their cameras, which gives them more legal ammunition against competitors. There's nothing in there that couldn't be recreated fairly easily with a specs of the sensor board output. There's no secret techniques in the sensor reading. It's not like any other current vr headset will benefit from this sdk. I've seen other open source libraries change their license after people pointed out how they were limiting themselves. Instead of telling people it's fine to break license agreements if we think two guys like each other's products, we should be asking one of those guys to change it so we don't have to. Win for us, win for oculus, win for game devs. ![]() We can add rift support to any gpl compatible open source game without fear of running into someone who takes the license they chose seriously. Very simple change, the code is still copyrighted and there's no longer any ambiguity or arguments. I'm sure since Doom3 and the rift are apparently so destined to be together that wouldn't be a problem. Rather than writing your own library (at least talk to the anti-c++ people first, they want a new library as well and you might as well team up to save effort) it would be easier for Oculus to change their license to a simplier one like MIT. No, it's obviously not a windowing system. The libovr is not a compiler, not a code interpreter, and not an essential component of a specific operating system. Means a major essential component (kernel, window system, and so on) of the specific operating system (if any) on which the executable work runs, or a compiler used to produce the work, or an object code interpreter used to run it. But since they can already do that anyway with the Oculus SDK, I guess I wouldn't really be doing much to enable that by making a GPL version. The main problem is that I don't have a dev kit yet.Īlso I don't particularly like doing a lot of work that's probably going to be used for killing or oppressing real people, unless I'm very confident they need killing or oppressing, and this has rather obvious military applications. I haven't checked how they get the display parameters, but that shouldn't be too hard either. It's not really that complicated, mostly just enumerating a specific HID device, reading reports from it, and doing some sensor fusion. Specifically, I'd say it's a "Window System", since that's one that's explicitly mentioned in the GPL, and it is basically fulfilling the role of a very simple window system.īut if people really want, I can try and write my own open-source version of their SDK. What makes you think it's not covered by the system library exception? It is basically a system library for the Rift platform. If you want your program to link against a library not covered by the system library exception, If everybody does it, then nobody will question it, no matter how explicitly the law disallows it. True rule of law doesn't actually exist anywhere, everywhere really has "rule of what most other people do and think is acceptable". It works well, and not just for copyright. Saying that it's ok to break a copyright license because other people are doing it already isn't exactly the smartest legal strategy. Secure from whom? Who are you worried will sue or punish you? I do not think it is unreasonable to ask for clarifications. I hope you understand that not everyone is satisfied to operate without legal security. There's no reason to obey the letter of the law in those cases, when the spirit of it is so obvious.Īlso, games like Doom 3 BFG are linking to lots of other proprietry libraries and code in order to be compiled and to run on Windows, as there's a specific exception in the GPL for that purpose. And Cybereality and Cybereality intended their code to be used together. For example, obviously John Carmack and Palmer Luckey intended their code to be usable together.
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