Arma Licensed Data Pack delivers the data which doesn't need to be unbinarized to be usable, and allows us to define what data we release and under which license.
Yes, of course, this is the purpose of the package (and in regards to DLCs, the way to get to the data of otherwise encrypted PBOs). It's important to keep in mind that APL-SA requires the modified data to be released under the same license.
You can combine and repack the data and publicly release such an addon, provided you fulfill the requirements of the APL (attribution of the original work, non-commercial, Arma-only). We recommend to release your work under APL.
If you use somebody else's work to create a modification for Arma games, you always need to respect their licenses (e.g. in the event you base your modification on data licensed under Bohemia Interactive's content licenses, you need to abide to their conditions). If the content of your modification is made entirely by yourself, you can release it under any license (e.g. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
The license does not specify in which format the data ought to be shared, and we do not require the addon makers to publish unbinarized sources along with the binarized addons under the APL-SA license. Obviously, it's better to release data in unbinarized format for their further use, which is what we would consider as beneficial for the Arma creative community. Also, we recommend respecting the original data under APL-SA you modify: if somebody released his addon in MLOD format as well, it would be a matter of courtesy to release it likewise.
Data packages licensed under APL do not require you to release the derivative work based on them as "Share Alike" (as would be the case with data released under APL-SA). We do not require unbinarized sources for derivative works to be released for data under APL-SA, simply adding the license text and stating in readme that your addon is subject to APL-SA license should be enough.
A Freeware License says that the author waives his intellectual property rights, while the APL says that author passed them under certain conditions.
A "Freeware" license requiring permission for modification or usage is not freeware. Bohemia Interactive cannot comment on such license (or take any action unless it breaks Bohemia Interactive's product EULA) - it's entirely up to its respective author.
No, it's not planned at the moment.
We did not release any Arma 3 data under BI licenses yet, and we cannot give them to you based on personal request.
You are free to unpack the PBOs and repack their content (even modified) in your modification's PBO(s). You need to be careful with the license of the original data (e.g. data released under APL-SA which you would modify need to be released under the same licenses).
Yes, you can, although these PBOs are only meant as source of data and their functionality in Arma 3 is not intended, therefore they probably won't work in Arma 3.
Yes, if the licenses are respected and their requirements fulfilled. Only the licensed content should be used to make such modification.
With some content, we wanted to ensure the derivative works are still available as basis for further work to the Arma modding community, this APL-SA. In the event of items such as vehicles, we opted for a less strict license where the author would not be required to release his (often substantially different) derivative work under the same terms.
Yes, provided they abide to the requirements of the APL-SA license, which means their derivative work is released under APL-SA as well, so that the possibility to make further derivatives is retained.
We decided to release the unbinarized animations so that people can edit them further, improve or base their own work on what they could learn from the package.
Yes, the complete Arma 2: Combined Operations package is available. There may be some data (e.g. map projects) which we did not release, but it's mostly for technical reasons.
We decided not to release the source data in unbinarized form, as it would multiply the size of the data packs beyond possibilities of feasible handling or download. In order to get to sounds and textures, addon makers are free to unpack the ALDP packages, rework their content and repack the derivatives in their releases.
Yes, it's possible as ALDP is licensed under APL and APL-SA licenses, which specifically allow use in any Arma game. Direct usage of the original ALDP PBOs is not a problem provided they are distributed along with their respective licenses, although it's not their primary and Bohemia Interactive cannot be held responsible for in-game functionality of these PBOs.
Yes, it's the same as with addons based on Bohemia Interactive's data. You need to abide to the conditions of the license under which the particular ALDP data were released.
We have released the Take On Helicopters Data Pack in April 2015.