Official:Distribution Policy: Difference between revisions

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Unless the distribution is only for short term (testing) usage, we recommend that rebranding is done to remove any such confusion risks. In any case it should be made clear that the binary has been altered, both during the download process and also when used by means of a suitable splash screen, notification or other clear message to the user.
Unless the distribution is only for short term (testing) usage, we recommend that rebranding is done to remove any such confusion risks. In any case it should be made clear that the binary has been altered, both during the download process and also when used by means of a suitable splash screen, notification or other clear message to the user.


Any other modified version for general use purposes that uses XBMC Foundation trademarks, wordmarks or logos otherwise requires permission from the XBMC Foundation board before distribution.
'''Any other modified version for general use purposes that uses XBMC Foundation trademarks, wordmarks or logos otherwise requires permission from the XBMC Foundation board before distribution.'''

Revision as of 19:50, 16 January 2020

Home icon grey.png   ▶ XBMC Foundation ▶ Trademarks ▶ Distribution Policy


Referenced Pages and Further Reading

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Introduction

There are four main ways that 3rd parties may wish to distribute a product based on our reference Kodi codebase:

  • by redistribution of our unaltered reference binaries including their installation packages.
  • by distributing forked or otherwise altered compiled Kodi rebranded binaries, with or without an installer.
  • as part of a packaged distribution within a dedicated operating system framework.
  • by forking and rebranding the software (either stand-alone or as part of a packaged distribution).

For any other routes or requirements (or if there are any questions or clarifications required), please contact the XBMC Foundation board via our [email protected] email address.


Redistribution of Our Unaltered Reference Binaries

This is allowed, including usage of our related trademarks, wordmarks and logos, without requiring further permission from the XBMC Foundation, subject to the following comments and caveats:

  • You may not add to, remove or change any part of the downloaded package, including the installation process.
  • No fee or other remuneration may be charged for the distribution.
  • The distribution may not be tied to the purchase of any other product, subscription or service.
  • By default the latest stable release version should be offered. Other versions may be offered in parallel as long as it is explicitly clear which version a given download link will supply.
  • The collection and storage of any personal information relating to the distribution is not allowed.
  • Any relevant local laws and restrictions will apply.

Our preferred method of such distribution is via links back to the official download area of our main website and the packages available therein.


Distributing Kodi Branded Forked or Otherwise Altered Compiled Binaries

Such distributions are discouraged due to the obvious risks of confusion with the original reference versions. Also there are risks of unexpected issues, bugs or operational variance that the alterations may cause leading to inefficient support and additional workload. In some cases it can also conflict with downloads available from various app stores.

There are some other caveats and limitations:

  • For cases where the modifications made are in violation of XBMC Foundation policies or ethics, the altered binaries may not be distributed. These include but are not limited to:
  • Inclusion of any media in the package that the distributor does not have legal permission to distribute from the copyright holder(s).
  • Inclusion of any pre-installed addon which allows direct access to media sourced from the internet.
  • Inclusion of any pre-installed addon or repo which violate the XBMC Foundation piracy policy, or are forks or derivatives of items that violate it.
  • Modifications designed to confuse, mislead or otherwise bypass notifications and warnings to the user, such as enabling the installation of 3rd party repositories by default.
  • Modifications which attempt to steal user personal information or data, or that incorporate or attempt to install malware, viruses, ransomware, mining scripts or similar malicious infections.
  • Support via the official XBMC Foundation forum may also be restricted or denied depending on the modifications made, entirely at the discretion of the Team Kodi staff.

Unless the distribution is only for short term (testing) usage, we recommend that rebranding is done to remove any such confusion risks. In any case it should be made clear that the binary has been altered, both during the download process and also when used by means of a suitable splash screen, notification or other clear message to the user.

Any other modified version for general use purposes that uses XBMC Foundation trademarks, wordmarks or logos otherwise requires permission from the XBMC Foundation board before distribution.