Open Source License Question
The developer agreement - 5-A-iii Subject to the Grace Period, Your Channel Application must at all times: i. comply with the Documentation; ii. comply with all applicable terms and conditions of t...
Forum Discussion
It seems to me that the question hinges on whether or not Roku is re-distributing the Channel Application under the license terms of the GPL. Companies that use the GPL to allow them to use the (compiled) code in network routers, e.g. "BusyBox", are definitely on the hook for notifying the buyer about the code and making it available on request.
However, given the other parts of the Developer Agreement, I think it's clear that Roku isn't using the GPL to re-distribute the channel. Roku doesn't need to; the agreement specifically assigns re-distribution rights to Roku, regardless of other licenses the code may be under. Code can be distributed under multiple licenses and each code recipient could have a different license. A developer who grabbed the source code, as granted by the GPL, is bound by the GPL terms. Roku, who gets and resends the source code as granted by the Developer Agreement, has no relevance to the GPL.
However, given the other parts of the Developer Agreement, I think it's clear that Roku isn't using the GPL to re-distribute the channel. Roku doesn't need to; the agreement specifically assigns re-distribution rights to Roku, regardless of other licenses the code may be under. Code can be distributed under multiple licenses and each code recipient could have a different license. A developer who grabbed the source code, as granted by the GPL, is bound by the GPL terms. Roku, who gets and resends the source code as granted by the Developer Agreement, has no relevance to the GPL.
