Google puts open-source project back up

Google has reinstated an open-source project just days after pulling it in response to a copyright-related takedown notice.

The CoreAVC-for-Linux project at Google lets users run the proprietary CoreAVC codec in Linux players. CoreAVC, a high-definition video decoder, was written by CoreCodec and designed for Windows. CoreCodec sells the codec in two versions, one priced at US$7.95 and another at $14.95.

In a letter dated April 30, CoreCodec's CEO issued a formal takedown notice under the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act to Google, charging the search giant with copyright infringement. Google subsequently removed the project from Google Code.

However, by Tuesday the project was available again. A brief note on the Google Code page for the project says: "Yes, we're back. CoreCodec has given their blessing to this project."

CoreCodec characterized the whole situation as a misunderstanding, although it also admitted that its initial charge was inaccurate. "In the end the counsel's advice on what we were to do was out of scope (including copyright) when we looked at all the great feedback everyone has provided us. The DMCA does allow for reverse engineering for compatibility purposes and hence in the end no matter what the 'other points' are the DMCA takedown request was wrongly sent," Dan Marlin, CoreCodec's founder and CEO, wrote on the company's forum.

Google, or at least the author of CoreAVC-for-Linux, seemed uninterested in getting into details of the incident. "Regardless of the cause, CoreCodec and I have resolved the conflict, and CoreAVC-for-Linux should be back online soon," Alan Nisota, the author of CoreAVC-for-Linux, wrote on CoreCodec's forum on Monday, before the project was reinstated.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.