VLC Player Might be Pulled from Apple App Store

Paris-based iPhone apps developing company Applidium had released a ported version of VLC Media Player for iPad and iPhone for free in September. VLC Media Player is an open-source audio-video format player that is also available on Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems. This VLC Media Player app allowed iPad, iPhone and iPod touch owners to use media files on their devices. However, VLC developer VideoLAN Project opposed that the VLC app uses Apple's FairPlay DRM and violates General Public License (GPL). 

VideoLAN Project's VLC Media Player is one of the most versatile cross-platform open-source softwares that eases the headache of downloading Audio/Video codecs. Applidium went ahead and ported the VLC Media Player for iOS and it even gets listed at the VideoLAN Project website. Remi Denis-Courmont, VideoLAN project member and developer, wrote a "" statement that a copyright infringement has been filed because the VLC for xiOS violates the GPL terms since the proprietary DRM that limits re-distribution of Apps freely.

Denis-Courmont pointed out that this VLC app for iPhone may damage the project's reputation but he holds publisher/developer (Applidium) responsible for that. The whole issue is that VLC app for iPad and iPhone can't be termed as "free software" because Apple doesn't allow distribution of apps downloaded from App Store. Also, Denis-Courmont asked developers to rewrite the app for more "open mobile platforms" for the time being; indirectly hinting how closed iOS as a mobile platform is.

VideoLAN via its official twitter account "" noted that VideoLAN is not distributing the VLC on AppStore, in short they're not the ones who published the apps and but still are trying to sort our things.

Jean-Baptiste Kempf, VideoLAN chairman and software engineer, had tried to analyze the GPL license issue with App Store Terms and Conditions. In the mailer, Kempf concluded:

It should be noted that the VLC on iOS source code and binaries are on the videolan.org website, and anyone can modify and recompile VLC for iOS at any time, and redistribute it, through the mean he wants. And that are the important rights of GPLv2.

Thank you Kempf for clarifying that but I wonder why one would want to recompile VLC for iOS all over again. Then the redistribution of the app is always an issue. So incase Apple doesn't accept the recompiled VLC for iOS, that developer will go directly to Cydia, free as well as paid apps bearing repository manager.

And once again Kempf leaves the gates open for ambiguity stating:
The submission terms are a private contract between the submitter and Apple, and, are not relevant to the terms of redistribution and usage, like for normal Xcode developer account.

To be honest, this will take months of arguments and agitation about violation of GPL and Apple's DRM to limit redistribution of app freely. Not surprisingly, Apple is observing silence since it has nothing to do with the matter and infact has relaxed the App Store guidelines to favor third-party development tools.

We know that you might be least bothered with all this licensing squabble but you never know when this app would be pulled back from the App Store. Get the VLC Media Player app from App Store for free from this iTunes Link.