HISE Commercial Licence

[Christoph Hart]

For most commercial projects a proprietary license is the most viable option because it permits the confidentiality of the source code. The HISE commercial license is a company-wide license that allows you to release as many proprietary projects as you want as long as your license subscription is active.

That's called dual licensing. You have two options:

1. Use GPL3
2. Don't use GPL3 because you want a proprietary product. Then you need to acquire a separate license from all copyright holders of the source code that you're using - that would be JUCE and us.

The fact that you can do that does not mean that anybody else can take your GPL3 code, buy a HISE license and sell it because then they would be violating your copyright (you could of course offer a dual licensing for your plugin too if you want people to resell it, but that's not part of the GPL then anymore).

[Robert Puza]

@Christoph-Hart The topic of license is very difficult for me to understand. The way I see it is that it would be effective if I had a person in the team who understands it. I'm a sound designer and I don't understand the licensing and marketing topic. So I can't sell musical instruments under GPL3? Or is it unethical? I would never copyright my setup of your software. That is unethical for me. But selling the product under the same license as Hise is not a good idea?

[Robert Puza]

@Robert-Puza How can I use my talent to produce a quality instrument without knowledge of the law? I need a team.

[Robert Puza]

@Robert-Puza I want to work under GPL3. According to GPL3 free means free in the use of the software, not free in the price. Or not?

[d.healey]

@Robert-Puza you have copyright automatically when you write something, you don't need to register it.

Yes you can sell anything you make under the GPL.

[Robert Puza]

@d-healey Ok. Thank you

[Christoph Hart]

@Robert-Puza Yeah, if you want to publish your project under the GPL license, just go for it:

1. Download HISE & JUCE
2. Build your project
3. When you publish the project, publish the source code of your project (usually the HISE project folder) & make the samples somewhat accessible so that people can actually use it.

No team of lawyers required.

[Robert Puza]

@Christoph-Hart

[Robert Puza]

I don't understand that. After all, what we create is a Hise setting. Is that automatically subject to copyright? Mi own presset? I don't understand it. After all, if you change the setting by 1 mm, it is no longer my setting. Or not?

[d.healey]

@Robert-Puza said in HISE Commercial Licence:

After all, what we create is a Hise setting.

Not sure what you mean. When you build an instrument in HISE and compile it you are creating a piece of software based the things you've implemented in your HISE project. The combination of modules, sample maps, scripts, etc. is all your unique work.

You can think of like writing a document in a text editor and exporting it as a PDF.

[Robert Puza]

@d-healey Exactly. But if the combination of modules, etc. change it by 0.000001 mm and it's not mine anymore. Or not?

[Robert Puza]

This post is deleted!

[d.healey]

@Robert-Puza said in HISE Commercial Licence:

Exactly. But if the combination of modules, etc. change it by 0.000001 mm and it's not mine anymore. Or not?

If you change a line of code then I guess (I'm no lawyer) you can claim a copyright on that change, but it doesn't affect the rest of the code.

[Robert Puza]

@d-healey Okay. I don't understand programming at all and I don't know the code language. So forgive me for possibly stupid questions

I always respect copyright. I'm just saying that the copyright on my own preset of existing software (open source) is funny.

[Robert Puza]

@Robert-Puza e.g. I will design and implement the reverb control in my instrument. and the user will get the copyright for setting the reverb that I enabled? I designed it so that only a small part of the reverb control is available. so that from the sound designer's point of view the user cannot mess up my settings. And he will get the copyright for setting the algorithm that I compiled because the creator of Hise gave me a tool for it? it's funny

[d.healey]

@Robert-Puza said in HISE Commercial Licence:

the user will get the copyright for setting the reverb that I enabled?

The user doesn't get a copyright, only the person who made the software.

[Robert Puza]

@d-healey ok Hise creator is a creator or not? me too? you too?

[Lindon]

@Robert-Puza said in HISE Commercial Licence:

@Robert-Puza e.g. I will design and implement the reverb control in my instrument. and the user will get the copyright for setting the reverb that I enabled? I designed it so that only a small part of the reverb control is available. so that from the sound designer's point of view the user cannot mess up my settings. And he will get the copyright for setting the algorithm that I compiled because the creator of Hise gave me a tool for it? it's funny

Well this is a poor understanding of copyright... you have a copyright over the product you made, and yes the user has a copyright over the preset they make...but......

Copyright is a right - a right to sue/prosecute someone for stealing your intellectual property and passing it off as their own,...but...you(or they) will need to prove that the intellectual property in question does not already exist in the public domain, or as prior art(that someone else made one just-or sufficiently- like it before you/them..). If it does exist in the public domain or there is prior art then you dont have a case that needs to be answered.....

So the case of a preset for a reverb FX, for example, is in the end such a finite (and small) number of possible combinations of settings then there is a very very good chance that prior art exists, and that art is in the public domain, and any sane judge would throw you out of court and award costs to your opponent. So in the end we dont generally consider stuff like presets to be copyrightable in any sense.

But in any case, copyright allows you to sue someone for the losses you incurred, so even if you win a copyright case you then need to prove that you had some financial loss(direct or indirect) from your opponents actions, and/or that they gained a financial benefit, and that you are entitled to some (or all ) of this revenue. So again a single Reverb preset - isnt going to fly.....

[d.healey]

@Robert-Puza said in HISE Commercial Licence:

ok Hise creator is a creator or not? me too? you too?

ROLI has copyright for JUCE, Christoph has copyright for HISE, you have copyright over anything you create with HISE.

[d.healey]

@Lindon said in HISE Commercial Licence:

Copyright is a right - a right to sue/prosecute someone for stealing your intellectual property

Oh that's a dark view :)

My take is lighter, I see it as the right to make copies and share them with others.

According to the US constitution it exists to promote science and art. By granting authors (for a limited time) an exclusive copyright.

Disney and the like kind of ruined it and turned it into a method to profit from and restrict users/viewers - even after the original author is long dead!