Kontakt 6 / 7 to SFZ or Decent Sampler: The Fast and Convenient Online Solution You've Been Searching For!

[EvilDragon]

Could it not fall into grey area the same way emulators are grey area ?

No, because sample library developer is entitled to license out their creation however they see fit, it's their terms you have to obey if you want to use it.

[EvilDragon]

Dear colleagues,

I kindly invite you to test the Kontakt Converter Desktop. You are entitled to three free conversions via the desktop version, or alternatively, there is an option to pay approximately $5 for each online conversion. I would greatly appreciate if someone could try it out and provide feedback on the experience.

For context, I'm a senior developer and every FILE is made up of bytes representing structures and contents. Identifying these structures isn't particularly challenging. For the NKI and NCW formats, it's no different. I have analyzed these files and discerned their organization. Contrary to common perception, an NCW or NKI isn't encrypted or anything of that sort. In reality, it's just a regular file with distinct structures and byte portions. You can open an NKI file in Notepad and you will even be able to identify a few things, what I did was just go a little deeper to understand.

I hope this answers any queries you might have.

OK so you have clearly violated the EULA. This is good to know.

[EvilDragon]

EULAs and contracts can very well be illegal themselves.

This is true and I don't disagree.

Ultimately it boils down to who has a better lawyer team in the end.

[gearwatcher]

Dear colleagues,

I kindly invite you to test the Kontakt Converter Desktop. You are entitled to three free conversions via the desktop version, or alternatively, there is an option to pay approximately $5 for each online conversion. I would greatly appreciate if someone could try it out and provide feedback on the experience.

For context, I'm a senior developer and every FILE is made up of bytes representing structures and contents. Identifying these structures isn't particularly challenging. For the NKI and NCW formats, it's no different. I have analyzed these files and discerned their organization. Contrary to common perception, an NCW or NKI isn't encrypted or anything of that sort. In reality, it's just a regular file with distinct structures and byte portions. You can open an NKI file in Notepad and you will even be able to identify a few things, what I did was just go a little deeper to understand.

I hope this answers any queries you might have.

OK so you have clearly violated the EULA. This is good to know.

Which portion of what EULA? EULA is just a contract, and you have implicitly accepted one for each peace of software you own.

But it gets better. Breaching the obligations contract (such as EULA) doesn't automatically makes you liable for damagew. The onus on proving that damages follow directly from your mutual obligations and your breach of contract is on the claimant.

And even then it's generally limited to the contract itself, of which you've generally fulfilled your part in entirety by purchasing the software.

The companies don't chase people for piracy on basis of breaching the end user licensing agreement, but on basis of breaking the intellectual property laws.

[Digivolt]

Could it not fall into grey area the same way emulators are grey area ?

No, because sample library developer is entitled to license out their creation however they see fit, it's their terms you have to obey if you want to use it.

I haven't read any terms or conditions that says that I can't resample or use the sounds of libraries within other products, otherwise I wouldn't be able to bounce tracks as that would a breach of their terms if resampling is not allowed.

All this tool does is convert the sounds from Kontakt to another sampler, just like if I bounced tracks and put the wavs in a sampler and the licenses aren't licenses to use the sounds in their own player because that would be stupid, the licenses are permissions to use the sounds in whatever format you wish providing you don't commercialise/distribute them beyond putting them in your music or in sound design where the sound is distinguishable enough from the original sound

[Echoes in the Attic]

So what is the actual cost to buy this desktop tool?

EDIT: When you download it tells you - 20 bucks

[egbert101]

But the difference is, he's charging money and distributing NI samples, resampled or not.

[Echoes in the Attic]

But the difference is, he's charging money and distributing NI samples, resampled or not.

How is it distributing NI samples? You already have the samples and they aren't NI samples.

[egbert101]

Ok mr pedantic... NI sample format.

[Digivolt]

Ok mr pedantic... NI sample format.

But the difference is, he's charging money and distributing NI samples, resampled or not.

That's a good point I didn't think of, I was just looking at it as the service, I guess doing it on desktop would be fine, but using a web service where you have to upload/download that's where things are legally questionable

[jancivil]

Why wouldn't it be? The converter doesn't use anything from Kontakt, no DLLs or EXEs from Native. It simply reads byte portions from the *.nki file identifying the scripts, groups, and zones portions, and brings that into a readable text format, text for SFZ, xml for Decent Sampler

but you reveal specifically what it "uses from Kontakt" in the effort to hide it with language. Whether or not this is litigatible I wouldn't know but...

[jancivil]

Could it not fall into grey area the same way emulators are grey area ?

No, because sample library developer is entitled to license out their creation however they see fit, it's their terms you have to obey if you want to use it.

I haven't read any terms or conditions that says that I can't resample or use the sounds of libraries

I have.

[EvilDragon]

The companies don't chase people for piracy on basis of breaching the end user licensing agreement, but on basis of breaking the intellectual property laws.

The proprietary file formats NKI and NCW are intellectual property of NI. Reverse engineering them and making money of this conversion without NI's consent is exploitation of said IP.

[EvilDragon]

Why wouldn't it be? The converter doesn't use anything from Kontakt, no DLLs or EXEs from Native. It simply reads byte portions from the *.nki file identifying the scripts, groups, and zones portions, and brings that into a readable text format, text for SFZ, xml for Decent Sampler

EULA section 3. Scope of use, subsection 3.1.

3.1 The Products from Native Instruments are protected by law. The intellectual property of the Products remains at Native Instruments. Licensee acquires only the right to use the Product to the following extent. Any other use or exploitation not explicitly granted to Licensee in this EULA shall not be allowed without written consent from Native Instruments. Specifically, Licensee is not entitled to copy or have copied, decompile or have decompiled, reverse engineer or have reverse engineered the Product or parts thereof. Licensee must ensure by appropriate and reasonable steps that third parties, including its own employees, cannot make unauthorized use of the Product. Licensee shall be liable to Native Instruments for any loss or damage in this context.



You are on very thin ground, sir...

[moss]

Why wouldn't it be? The converter doesn't use anything from Kontakt, no DLLs or EXEs from Native. It simply reads byte portions from the *.nki file identifying the scripts, groups, and zones portions, and brings that into a readable text format, text for SFZ, xml for Decent Sampler

EULA section 3. Scope of use, subsection 3.1.

3.1 The Products from Native Instruments are protected by law. The intellectual property of the Products remains at Native Instruments. Licensee acquires only the right to use the Product to the following extent. Any other use or exploitation not explicitly granted to Licensee in this EULA shall not be allowed without written consent from Native Instruments. Specifically, Licensee is not entitled to copy or have copied, decompile or have decompiled, reverse engineer or have reverse engineered the Product or parts thereof. Licensee must ensure by appropriate and reasonable steps that third parties, including its own employees, cannot make unauthorized use of the Product. Licensee shall be liable to Native Instruments for any loss or damage in this context.



You are on very thin ground, sir...

Interesting discussion! Some clarifications:

A file format cannot be patented and is not copyrighted (https://www.fileformat.info/mirror/egff/ch08_09.htm). Therefore, it is no issue to implement software which reads/writes a file format.

Question is how you get the information about the file format. If the documentation is not openly available (which is copyrighted) there are 2 options:
1) Analysing example files. Totally legal and not even mentioned in the EULA.
2) Reverse-Engineering the software

The later is the thing that all companies try to forbid in their EULAs (and you cited the paragraph from NIs). But this does no mean that it holds up in court. E.g. in the US:
"a person in legal possession of a program may reverse-engineer and circumvent its protection if that is necessary to achieve "interoperability"". Which is the use-case here.
Same for the EU and you can even remove a protection to keep it running if the creator of the software no longer supports it.

A different topic is if you use such a software for copyright infringement, e.g. reselling copyrighted sample libraries in different formats. Which I also cannot see in this case.