Do open-source plugins need to be submitted to the VCV Library by its original developers?

You’re explaining a pretty hypothetical/exotic/rare scenario that I’ve not yet needed to handle, so I haven’t given it enough thought to make a general policy about it. Policies are for “mass-producing” case-by-case decisions. It’s pointless to make a policy if specific cases have never happened!

I feel confident that given a specific situation, I would make the most reasonable decision for the situation. But the situation is unlikely so I likely won’t need to make a decision at all, because all of the below have to occur in order for the decision to arise.

  1. An original developer uses their personal name as their plugin name.
  2. The original developer becomes inactive.
  3. Another developers finds it interesting enough to fork and make significant improvements.
  4. They decide to use the same name as the original plugin.
  5. They ask me (on the VCV Library thread) to replace the original plugin with their fork.

That’s a lot of requirements for your hypothetical situation to occur! What I’m telling you is that I don’t know what I will decide in a future specific situation, so if you feel strongly about it, don’t rely on my “hypothetical policies” that don’t exist, just cover your own bases. I helped you write a statement to add to your license, so take it or leave it.

3 Likes