Can I cancel or change the GPL v2/MIT license of MediaElementPlayer?

Envato Authors CodeCanyon
,
#1

Hello community, it is my first thread here, so I hope you can understand if there is something that is not very clear, if this happens, please tell me.

I have been developing my product for Codecanyon for a little over 3 years while I have been studying, it is great, but now that I am approaching the end, I am overwhelmed by all the legal issues under which some of the plugins I have used lie, one of these is MediaElementPlayer. I understand that this Javascript library for HTML players is under the GPL v2/MIT license, so I am granted certain rights and I have to meet some conditions, but I am not an expert in this area and I have basic knowledge of laws so I don’t want to make a decision lightly.

For all the above, I have decided to come to you, because I have modified this library a lot, I have added new functions for my product and I have carried out tests for months and everything is going well, I would like to limit the use that could be given by anyone who I can acquire it, that is, change the license to protect this library and prevent even authors from the same niche where I am trying to be from using it.

The following notice is the one found in the library, and it is the one that I would like to change, it is not necessary to remove it, because my intention is not to appropriate someone else’s work, what I would like is that the use of this “customization” can be avoided specifically, whether or not the current copyright notice is maintained.

/*!

  • MediaElement.js
  • http://www.mediaelementjs.com/
  • Wrapper that mimics native HTML5 MediaElement (audio and video)
  • using a variety of technologies (pure JavaScript, Flash, iframe)
  • Copyright 2010-2017, John Dyer (http://j.hn/)
  • License: MIT

*/

I know it may seem very simple, but since it is going to be my first product to send to Codecanyon, I would not want to infringe any copyright.

#2

According to MIT license:
A short and simple permissive license with conditions only requiring preservation of copyright and license notices.

Conditions

License and copyright notice

You should to check the full license terms.

#3

I understand, thank you very much mgscoder. As I’ve been reading, I can’t remove the current author, that’s fine, but I can’t modify the copyright granted to anyone who acquires this library, however, I can apply my copyright on the modifications and new features added.

https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/386582/altering-author-names-in-mit-license

https://www.tawesoft.co.uk/kb/article/mit-license-faq

As I could read here:

And it is. You cannot “re-license” MIT-licensed code, and the MIT-licensed code will remain under the MIT License, but you can redistribute it as part of another project under any license you wish. You should make it clear that any changes that you make to the MIT-licensed code are released under your new license. The MIT License text & copyright notice must still be included with any unmodified MIT-licensed code.

But what I still don’t know how to do is restrict the use of the modifications made, that is, what kind of license can I use to apply it to the modifications and how can I add the new notice? It is what I still do not know how to do and I would not like to be wrong about it.

What I want is that the authors of Codecanyon cannot use these modifications for their products and thus prevent my work, far from generating any economic remuneration, from increasing sales to those who are already positioned in the niche where they intend to be.

I know it is tedious and it may seem simple, but I don’t want to be wrong, I hope you can help me and thank you very much from now on.

#4

Please Contact Author Support and let them know. Envato license expert Support Team will be happy to assist you and you can get an official answer. please don’t forget to post the answer you will get, so that other authors can know.

#5

You cannot change the licensing. You may however contact the author(s) and ask for a license that suits you. Most authors will allow this at an extra cost.

In my opinion though, you should keep the licensing as is and instead create a larger work around the player which you can license as you wish as that would be your code, while the player itself will remain GPL/MIT.

#6

I understand mgscoder, I will do that, I will try to contact them so that they can give me an official answer, so I will feel more calm about it. I didn’t know that it was possible to contact Codecanyon support directly, I appreciate it, when I have an answer I will place it here without any doubt and thank you very much.

I appreciate your answer Typps, that option has also haunted my head, but this would not help to protect my current project, which is the first that I will send to Codecanyon, however I will take it into account, it may be very useful later.

1 Like
#7

After a while, this is what they answered, I hope it helps whoever sees this :grin:

Hi,

Thanks for your patience while i consulted with another team.

We are not experts in licenses of third party services or products, so you need to do your own research and ensure your changes are in line with the license terms.

We understand the MIT license is more permissive, but if it’s dual licensed under the GPL we don’t believe changing the license would be allowed, unfortunately, even if you have modified it.

For example, if I took WP and made some changes to it, I couldn’t just change the license and redistribute it - it contains GPL code so that license still applies. The GPL license would also apply to any derivative code, created from a GPL library; in the same way that PHP in WP plugins must be GPL as it’s derivative of WP itself).

The Envato license (Read: What is Split Licensing? ) will apply to the item as a whole, except for the specific components covered by the GPL.

Please also keep in mind that:

  • Envato does not accept items that could be downloaded for free by a customer elsewhere, with little or no value addition. To ensure a fair and equitable marketplace, you’ll need to add significant value to an open source project before it can be uploaded to CodeCanyon.
  • In order for another Envato author to redistribute an Envato item in their larger stock project, they would require an extended license and written permission from the author of the item. Please also read: Guidelines for forking GPL code – Envato Author Help Center

Kind Regards,
Shaun
(GMT+11.00; Melbourne)

#8

Of-course in case of WordPress and the Mediaelement player, since WordPress is GPL, then the GPL license will apply and not MIT. Likewise, in your case, if you want to embed the Mediaelement player within your commercial project, in that case the MIT license will apply and not GPL.

The whole purpose of embedding dual licensed third party code is that the licensing that best suits your project, will apply.

You on the other hand directly modified MediaElement player and now you want to change the licensing, to limit the licensing of the player itself. This is something you cannot do. Instead you need to build a larger item that uses mediaelement, in that case you can license your project anyway you see fit and the MIT license will kick in for MediaPlayer.