KVR Audio

george · Post by **george** » Sat Apr 17, 2021 11:31 am

chk071 wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 11:23 am Just like you can apply contract clauses (or terms of usage) to your plugins, I guess.

No idea. Looks like a legally grey area to me. Coercive behavior perhaps.

If I have signed a valid VST2 contract I don't think Steinberg has any rights to cancel due to VST3 licensing.

Lawyer advice is welcome here

MuTools · Post by **MuTools** » Sat Apr 17, 2021 11:36 am

I also wonder whether that clause is legal, unless it applies to *all* VST 3 host + plugin developers, also the ones who signed their agreement before 30 march 2021. If that clause only applies to devs who sign the agreement after 30 march then that's about unfair competition, which is illegal. Because early signed devs can still host VST 2 plugins, later signed devs cannot. Unfair.

Xenakios · Post by **Xenakios** » Sat Apr 17, 2021 11:41 am

discoDSP wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 10:18 am VST3 SDK is GPLv3. How can Steinberg apply that kind of contract clauses?

Doesn't VST3 have a dual license, the GPL one and the proprietary one and only the latter requires to sign the license agreement with Steinberg? (But obviously I am not a lawyer.)

tor.helge.skei · Post by **tor.helge.skei** » Sat Apr 17, 2021 12:27 pm

https://forums.steinberg.net/t/vst-3-sd ... q/201638/5

"You can of course distribute your GPLv3 licensed application as binary as long as you make the source code available as GPLv3. Then you don’t need to sign the “Proprietary Steinberg VST3” license."

george · Post by **george** » Sat Apr 17, 2021 1:06 pm

Interesting findings. Those clauses still look legally borderline to me as they don't promote fair competition between vendors.

Chaotikmind · Post by **Chaotikmind** » Sat Apr 17, 2021 1:36 pm

Wait, i'm sure someone already put some thoughts into that, but why i should be forced to use the vst2 sdk to make vst2 plugins?
The agreement is valid only if you use the vst2 sdk, not the vst2 "protocol"
if i were to rewrite myself a vst2 compatible sdk, that would made everything else void, right?

i don't know much about US laws, but in europe this is certainly possible.

arkmabat · Post by **arkmabat** » Sat Apr 17, 2021 1:46 pm

While we debate this, some guy is selling Waves plugins wrapped inside shitty-looking GUIs with a generic license slapped on the installer, which even he has never read.

ladron · Post by **ladron** » Sat Apr 17, 2021 3:50 pm

discoDSP wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 10:18 am VST3 SDK is GPLv3. How can Steinberg apply that kind of contract clauses?

If you release your plugin under the GPL, you don't need to sign an agreement. If you don't want to release your plugin source code, you need to sign their agreement to get a license.

george · Post by **george** » Sat Apr 17, 2021 4:06 pm

Yeah, still not fair for new devs.

melomood · Post by **melomood** » Sat Apr 17, 2021 4:08 pm

chk071 wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 11:22 am
melomood wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 11:14 am So the day is coming when an upgraded version of my existing DAW simply won't scan for VST2, sooner than later.
Of course. Didn't you think that day would come sooner or later?

Cubase will probably be the first though.

Twas hoping,being not Cubase, it would be later than it seems now

arkmabat · Post by **arkmabat** » Sat Apr 17, 2021 4:14 pm

FL Studio will probably support it forever. Laugh, call me fruity boy, but loading any vst (x86/64/VST2/VST3) you want is no joking matter. They aren't the most law-abiding DAW out there, implementing the LAME encoder before the MP3 patent expired, etc. Here's to hoping.

melomood · Post by **melomood** » Sat Apr 17, 2021 4:20 pm

I was thinking it's maybe the reason they stopped making vsts. I didn't check that thread much to read every possible reason & see it already mentioned.Not the end of the world,just noted, as I slowly have been giving up 32's for 64's & 2 for 3 along the way & saying bye to old 'friends'

arkmabat · Post by **arkmabat** » Sat Apr 17, 2021 4:23 pm

Oh shoot! You're right. Is this for plugs only or daws' ability to load them?

BlueprintInc · Post by **BlueprintInc** » Sat Apr 17, 2021 4:24 pm

VST2 will never die.

arkmabat · Post by **arkmabat** » Sat Apr 17, 2021 4:25 pm

Steinberg: stop making vst2
Image Line: how about we just stop vst dev completely

Well this is a kick in the nuts: VST2 plug-ins