Blackmagic Design publishes several software development kits and a sound library that developers and post-production users download from the support site. Each download opens a dialog that presents a licence agreement and asks the user to register details and agree before the download begins. The agreements are short, and they differ from one another in ways that matter if an organization embeds Blackmagic technology in its own software or redistributes it. This article summarises the agreements and how they differ.
None of the agreements carries an effective date; the Blackmagic RAW page carries a 2019 copyright line.[1] They are presented as part of a download, so the version in force for a given download is the one displayed at the time. Each reserves the right to alter prices, features, licensing terms, release dates and availability at any time.[1][2]
The agreements at a glance
| Agreement | Grant | Sub-licensing or redistribution | Liability cap | Governing law |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackmagic RAW end-user licence | Non-exclusive licence on a single system | Not permitted: no renting, leasing or unlicensed persons | List price of a licence | Victoria, Australia[1] |
| Blackmagic RAW SDK (Developer License Agreement) | Non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable, limited, royalty-free | API Libraries may be distributed in object code form with licensee software | US$100 | State of California[1] |
| Standard Blackmagic SDK | Non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free | Must not lease, rent, distribute or sub-license | US$100 | State of California[2] |
| Desktop Video SDK | Non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free | May sub-license on conditions; Include folders carved out | US$100 | State of California[3] |
| Cintel SDK | Non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free | May sub-license on conditions | US$100 | State of California[4] |
| Fairlight Sound Library | Non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free | Not permitted; films may be distributed | US$100 | State of California[5] |
Blackmagic RAW
The Blackmagic RAW download carries two agreements on one page: a licence agreement for the Blackmagic RAW software, and a Developer License Agreement for the Blackmagic RAW SDK.[1]
End-user licence
The end-user licence is a ten-paragraph agreement with Blackmagic Design Pty. Ltd. Paragraph 1 grants a non-exclusive licence on the terms below, subject to payment of applicable licence fees, and provides that the software may be used on a single system only and copied for archival purposes with the original proprietary notices.[1] Paragraph 6 forbids permitting unlicensed persons to use the licensee’s copy, modifying, translating, reverse engineering, decompiling, disassembling or creating derivative works, copying, renting or leasing the software and removing proprietary notices. Paragraph 2 disclaims warranties and limits Blackmagic Design’s liability to its list price for a licence to the software, and paragraph 8 selects the law of the state of Victoria, Australia and the courts of Victoria, while allowing Blackmagic Design to enforce intellectual property rights in any jurisdiction where an infringement occurs.[1] The licence terminates automatically if the licensee fails to comply, and the licensee may terminate it at any time by destroying the copy.[1]
The opening words of paragraph 1 refer to payment of applicable licence fees. The documents reviewed do not state a fee for the Blackmagic RAW software, and the support site offers it as a download.
Developer License Agreement
The Developer License Agreement for the SDK is longer and more specific. It licenses an organization (the Licensee) to use the SDK, defined as redistributable API libraries in object code, sample source code, and header files, binary files and documentation.[1] The grant is non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable, limited and royalty-free, for use on any personal computer or networked machine, and its Permitted Use covers:
- evaluating whether to build with the SDK;
- creating or modifying software that incorporates the SDK and is compatible with Blackmagic products;
- internal distribution to employees, agents and contractors; and
- sub-licensing and distributing, to the extent incorporated into the licensee’s software, the API libraries in object code and the licensee’s modifications to the sample source code to distributors, resellers, end users and others in its distribution chain.[1]
The licensee owns derivative works it creates directly to the sample source code that integrates with its software, subject to Blackmagic’s ownership of the underlying code (clause 1.4).[1] This is the only agreement among those reviewed that gives the licensee a downstream distribution right, and it is the term to check for independent software vendors that ship products reading Blackmagic RAW files.
Other terms include a warranty disclaimer, an aggregate liability limit of US$100, a ban on copying or modifying the developer SDK and on reverse engineering the API libraries, and an acknowledgement that the licensee is solely responsible for obtaining any third-party licences needed for products that incorporate third-party technology such as operating systems and audio or video encoders and decoders, because no patent rights in that technology are granted.[1] Clause 6 allows use of the designations “XXX compatible with Blackmagic Design YYY” and “XXX for Blackmagic Design YYY” during the term. Blackmagic may require the licensee to stop using the designation on products it considers incompatible.[1]
Termination is asymmetric. The agreement is effective until terminated, and the licensor may terminate immediately, with or without notice, at its sole discretion or on breach. On termination the licensee must stop using the SDK and return or delete it, with a declaration of deletion, although sub-licences already granted to end users under the distribution clause survive.[1] The agreement is governed by California law, with the courts of California and the United States having exclusive jurisdiction, and the licensor keeps the right to enforce intellectual property rights in any jurisdiction where infringement occurs.[1]
The standard Blackmagic SDK agreement
The standard SDK agreement is the base text for several kits. It grants a non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free licence for the term of the agreement, for use on any personal computer or networked machine to determine whether to create or modify an application and to create software compatible with Blackmagic products (the Permitted Use).[2] The licensee must not lease, rent, distribute or sub-license the software or use it in a time-sharing arrangement, may make one copy for backup, and may use sample source code only internally for the Permitted Use.[2] The agreement limits aggregate liability to US$100, is effective until terminated, allows Blackmagic to terminate at its sole discretion or on breach, and is governed by California law.[2]
For an organization, the consequence is that a standard-SDK licensee cannot hand the SDK to a customer, subcontractor or another company. Under clause 8.3 the licensee may not assign or sub-license its rights without Blackmagic’s written consent.[2] The agreement is formed with the person or organization that clicks to accept it in the download dialog, so a licence record should state who accepted.
Desktop Video and Cintel SDKs
The Desktop Video SDK and the Cintel SDK use a similar grant to the standard agreement but allow sub-licensing. The licensee may sub-license the software to third parties for use on any personal computer or networked machine, provided it distributes the SDK in full (the sample source code may be left out), sub-licenses on substantially similar terms and without greater rights, does not permit sub-licensees to do anything it is itself prohibited from doing, and ensures sub-licences end automatically when the agreement ends.[3][4] The licensee may make as many copies as needed for backup and for sub-licensing.[3]
The Desktop Video SDK agreement has a further clause 0: clauses 1, 4.3, 4.4, 5, 7 and 8 do not apply to the files in the Mac, Win and Linux Include sub-folders of the SDK, and the entire agreement applies to all other files.[3] In effect the header files carry lighter terms than the rest of the kit, so a licence review of a product that includes DeckLink headers should check which files are in use.
Fairlight Sound Library
The Blackmagic Fairlight Sound Library is licensed under a separate agreement. The grant is non-exclusive, non-transferable and royalty-free, and the licensee may use the sounds on any personal computer or networked machine of the licensee only for the sole purpose of use in projects created and finished using DaVinci Resolve or DaVinci Resolve Studio, whether personal or commercial.[5] The licensee must not lease, rent, distribute, sell or sub-license the sounds. Films derived from DaVinci Resolve projects containing the sounds may be distributed or commercialised where the sounds were used as permitted, but the licensee must not assert ownership of the sounds.[5] The agreement caps aggregate liability at US$100 and is governed by California law.[5] The practical effect for asset managers is that the sound library is tied to DaVinci Resolve: its licence does not extend to use in other editing software.
Practical points for software asset managers
- Identify which agreement applies. The Blackmagic RAW end-user licence, the Blackmagic RAW Developer License Agreement and the other SDK agreements differ on sub-licensing and governing law.
- Record the accepting entity and the date of download, since the agreements carry no effective date and Blackmagic may change terms at any time.[1]
- Treat termination at Blackmagic’s sole discretion as a supply-chain risk for products built on the SDKs, and note the survival of end-user sub-licences granted under the Blackmagic RAW Developer License Agreement.[1]
- Separate third-party codec licences from the Blackmagic grant; the Developer License Agreement does not grant patent rights in third-party technology.[1]
- Keep sound library content out of non-Resolve projects.
Out of scope
This article does not cover the licence agreement shown by the DaVinci Resolve installer, Blackmagic hardware warranty terms, or other downloads that carry the same standard SDK agreement without a separate product page.