Re: Licensing issue: Emms has been offered support to read the metadata for SNES SPC files. OK with Emacs?

[Po Lu]

Yoni Rabkin <yoni@rabkins.net> writes:

> Hello all,
>
> A kind developer is offering a patch to Emms which would enable Emms to
> read the metadata of a SNES SPC file.
>
> Each SNES SPC file is a 64KB memory dump of the Super Nintendo
> Entertainment System S-SMP chip's SRAM.
>
> These files have been reverse engineered and a format has been published
> on the web: http://www.snesmusic.org/files/spc_file_format.txt
>
> However, Emms has a policy of supporting and promoting free audio
> formats: https://www.gnu.org/software/emms/manual/#Formats-and-Freedom
>
> I personally have no appetite for it, but as the maintainer of Emms I
> also want to serve the community.
>
> Since Emms is installable from within Emacs via ELPA, I decided to ask
> here.
>
> Last, but not least, I am also a volunteer for the FSF GPL Compliance
> Lab (have been for the past 17 years or so.) But I'm not wearing that
> hat at the moment, and instead asking the Emacs developers their opinion
> and preference.

It is OK for free software to play proprietary formats, as long as
patents do not affect the ability to redistribute and use that software.

We should strive to release our own media only in free formats, however.