[memoriesman49]

XBMC is a corporation, i.e., company.It was incorporated in Delaware 25 March 2012. Jonathan Marshall, President

[trogggy]

XBMC is a corporation, i.e., company.It was incorporated in Delaware 25 March 2012. Jonathan Marshall, President

This is not news.

[Tinwarble]

Corporation does not = company.

XBMC is a 501c3 non-profit organization, not a company. The "incorporation" is for tax purposes just like all other 501c3's that are not companies.

To be tax-exempt under section 501(c )(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, an organization must be organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c )(3), and none of its earnings may inure to any private shareholder or individual. In addition, it may not be an action organization, i.e., it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.

Organizations described in section 501(c )(3) are commonly referred to as charitable organizations. Organizations described in section 501(c )(3), other than testing for public safety organizations, are eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions in accordance with Code section 170.

The organization must not be organized or operated for the benefit of private interests, and no part of a section 501(c )(3) organization's net earnings may inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. If the organization engages in an excess benefit transaction with a person having substantial influence over the organization, an excise tax may be imposed on the person and any organization managers agreeing to the transaction.

Section 501(c )(3) organizations are restricted in how much political and legislative (lobbying) activities they may conduct. For a detailed discussion, see Political and Lobbying Activities. For more information about lobbying activities by charities, see the article Lobbying Issues; for more information about political activities of charities, see the FY-2002 CPE topic Election Year Issues.

[memoriesman49]

Thank you Sir

[scott967]

XBMC is a corporation, i.e., company.It was incorporated in Delaware 25 March 2012. Jonathan Marshall, President

Well, according to the incorporation papers on the wiki, it was incorporated in 2009. http://kodi.wiki/images/3/30/Delaware_In...Notice.pdf It's supposed to be a 501c3, but I can't find any IRS Form 990 for it so I'm not sure it really is.

Being incorporated means it (the XBMC Foundation) can own property, enter into contracts, sue and be sued, etc. Part of this of course is owning the trade/service marks. Under US law trademarks are recognized in the common law, and in addition there is protection under the Lanham Act which, among other things, provides for protection of "registered" trademarks (such as "Kodi").

Software is generally included within the scope of "copyright" and "patent" as provided for under the US Constitution and various treaties. This of course has nothing to do with trademark (in some cases there may be overlap between design patents and trade dress but that isn't the case here).

scott s.
.

[memoriesman49]

Thanks Scott, I believe you are making my point. I also did not find any documentation about Kodi/XBMC being a 501c3, that does not mean they are not but it does muddy the waters. Some of the replies have discussed the reason for not making Kodi a licensed or purchase software product. Due to the fact they have had so many contributors, which makes perfect sense.

[User 182116]

Thanks Scott, I believe you are making my point. I also did not find any documentation about Kodi/XBMC being a 501c3, that does not mean they are not but it does muddy the waters. Some of the replies have discussed the reason for not making Kodi a licensed or purchase software product. Due to the fact they have had so many contributors, which makes perfect sense.

Precisely what specific waters are being muddied that has any real relevance?

[da-anda]

we are non-profit, believe it or not, up to you

[nickr]

Please stop feeding the troll.

[memoriesman49]

Yes, lets stop different opinions.

[Prof Yaffle]

Why the concern, guys? We're a non-profit. That's the way it is.

It's lost on me why you can't accept that we don't do this for the money - maybe you should read up on intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, or maybe you've had a bad experience somewhere else - but we do it because... well, we just do. Because we care. Because we want Kodi to be the best it can be. Because we get some perverse pleasure from helping people, or even trying to educate them. But, trust me, there's not enough cash in this enterprise to make it worthwhile if it were for profit.

[RockerC]

You might want to read the Team Kodi manifesto

http://kodi.wiki/view/Team_Kodi_manifesto

Summary of the facts; XBMC Foundation is a nonprofit organization and it as well as Team Kodi follows the FLOSS (Free/Libre and Open Source Software) philosophy where the 'golden rule' is to require that any changes (such as fixes and enhancements) also be released as open source.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_o...e_software

Legally you are allowed to fork/copy Kodi's core code, and if you properly rebrand it and replace any copyrighted skins or textures/artworks then you are legally also allowed to sell the software (as long as you don't violate any licenses, copyrights, or trademarks), but you are also still legally required to always release any code changes as open source.

https://freeopensourcesoftware.org/index...Philosophy

The open source license that Kodi's core code is bound under gives you the freedom to make commercial products from the code, but do not abuse that freedom by violating its license. The "free" in FOSS means free as in 'free speech', and not 'free beer'.

If you want to make a business based on Kodi's core code then it is recommend that companies still try to follow "the open source way" if you want to keep any collaboration with the Kodi community.

http://www.theopensourceway.org

To quote Richard Stallman: "To emphasize that “free software” refers to freedom and not to price, we sometimes write or say “free (libre) software,” adding the French or Spanish word that means free in the sense of freedom. In some contexts, it works to use just “libre software.”."

XBMC is a corporation, i.e., company.It was incorporated in Delaware 25 March 2012. Jonathan Marshall, President

Well, according to the incorporation papers on the wiki, it was incorporated in 2009. http://kodi.wiki/images/3/30/Delaware_In...Notice.pdf

It's supposed to be a 501c3, but I can't find any IRS Form 990 for it so I'm not sure it really is.

@scott967 and memoriesman49. Please realize that XBMC/Kodi have now existing as an free and open source project since 2002, that is around 15-years now, and it have been a GPL licensed from the start. Thee free and open source software philosophy that the XBMC Foundation and the Kodi team members follows is not something new here.

If you guys are insinuating that the XBMC Foundation board is now planning to steal the code for profit then you are either just a internet troll here to start inflammatory arguments trying to upset Kodi community members for kicks or you must be a paranoid tinfoil hat wearing crazy person spinning conspiracy theories to feed your psychosis.

Regardless of your intentions, please stop posting inflammatory comments insinuating that members of this project are only in it for the money.

[memoriesman49]

Thanks RockerC that is a very good explanation and clears up a lot. Thanks again

[memoriesman49]

I will be removing <dodgy application> which is a app based upon kodi from my website. I am assuming that is what several of you have said is pirated. The rest of what I sell is in the public domain. I do understand your concerns. Thank you for you not of gentle push in the right direction.

[Kib]

You realise that the app is probably okay if it is rebranded correctly, but the videos are not public domain and selling them is illegal.