[ranit]

If this is a fact:

> 1. Patented algorithms that are effectively impossible to license in a commercial setting.

then does anyone know how "OpenCV has been the foundation of countless production systems" is possible, as the OP article claims?

[nextaccountic]

Software patents aren't a thing in most of the world

[Joel_Mckay]

One can legally use/static-link OpenCV in most commercial projects, and there were only a few legal landmines people still try to document when possible.

However, until each code area turns 17/21 no one knows for sure. It just looks normal at first, and $12k cheaper than MatLab server host licenses. =3

[zdkl]

Well I've deployed OpenCV based pipelines in academic contexts for site surveys and photogrammetry.

[Joel_Mckay]

There is a CLI photogrammetry OSS project with rather litigious faculty members behind the code. However, at least that group was upfront about what was expected of the library users, and didn't do something dodgy like quietly merge it into another community library like OpenCV.

I discovered that while porting it to a Pi ARM platform years ago (yes it was slow... lol.) Forgot when the IP becomes public domain, but you might want to check that out. If I recall it was unrelated to the COLMAP project design. =3

[zdkl]

They wouldn't happen to be french cartography would they?

[Joel_Mckay]

These should help narrow down the search, but ibfs commercial restrictions are now 404... and the original IP warnings seem missing/expired.

https://github.com/openMVG/openMVG/blob/develop/COPYRIGHT.md

https://github.com/cdcseacave/openMVS/blob/master/COPYRIGHT....

Personally, I recommend COLMAP + CloudCompare + MeshLab, but the Mozilla Public License 2.0 should address IP license issues if the author is also the rights holder. Keep in mind all work done by University Students and Staff is often property of the institution unless otherwise stated. It is a delicate subject.

Best of luck =3

[zdkl]

Thank you for the recommendations, I'll return one myself:

https://github.com/alicevision/AliceVision https://github.com/alicevision/Meshroom

No affiliation, just an excellent tool