diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 195aaa2924..a147b5e52e 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -292,19 +292,35 @@ else
                 -I \$(top_builddir)/gst-libs/ext/libav \
                  -Wno-deprecated-declarations"
 
-  dnl libgstlibav.la: libs to statically link to        
-  LIBAV_LIBS="\$(top_builddir)/gst-libs/ext/libav/libavformat/libavformat.a \
-               \$(top_builddir)/gst-libs/ext/libav/libavcodec/libavcodec.a \
-               \$(top_builddir)/gst-libs/ext/libav/libavutil/libavutil.a"
+  LIBAV_DEPS="\$(top_builddir)/gst-libs/ext/libav/libavformat/libavformat.a \
+              \$(top_builddir)/gst-libs/ext/libav/libavcodec/libavcodec.a \
+              \$(top_builddir)/gst-libs/ext/libav/libavutil/libavutil.a"
+  if test "x$enable_static_plugins" = xyes; then
+      dnl with static linking we can't use the .a archive directly as they would
+      dnl be included in the final libgstlibav.a as a file and won't be usable.
+      dnl libav*.a must be copied to the final destination too
+      LIBAV_LIBS="-lavformat -lavcodec -lavutil"
+  else
+      dnl libgstlibav.la: libs to statically link to
+      LIBAV_LIBS="$LIBAV_DEPS"
+  fi
 
   dnl
   SWSCALE_CFLAGS="-I \$(top_srcdir)/gst-libs/ext/libav \
                   -I \$(top_builddir)/gst-libs/ext/libav \
                   -Wno-deprecated-declarations"
 
-  dnl libgstswscale.la: libs to statically link to
-  SWSCALE_LIBS="\$(top_builddir)/gst-libs/ext/libav/libswscale/libswscale.a \
+  SWSCALE_DEPS="\$(top_builddir)/gst-libs/ext/libav/libswscale/libswscale.a \
                 \$(top_builddir)/gst-libs/ext/libav/libavutil/libavutil.a"
+  if test "x$enable_static_plugins" = xyes; then
+      dnl with static linking we can't use the .a archive directly as they would
+      dnl be included in the final libgstswscale.a as a file and won't be usable.
+      dnl libav*.a must be copied to the final destination too
+      LIBAV_LIBS="-lswscale -lavutil"
+  else
+      dnl libgstswscale.la: libs to statically link to
+      SWSCALE_LIBS="$SWSCALE_DEPS"
+  fi
 
   LIBAV_SUBDIRS=gst-libs
   AC_DEFINE(HAVE_AVI_H)
@@ -425,9 +441,11 @@ else
 fi
 
 AC_SUBST(LIBAV_CFLAGS)
+AC_SUBST(LIBAV_DEPS)
 AC_SUBST(LIBAV_LIBS)
 AC_SUBST(LIBAV_SUBDIRS)
 AC_SUBST(SWSCALE_CFLAGS)
+AC_SUBST(SWSCALE_DEPS)
 AC_SUBST(SWSCALE_LIBS)
 AC_SUBST(WIN32_LIBS)
  
diff --git a/ext/libav/Makefile.am b/ext/libav/Makefile.am
index 65a6f0d57c..24d0eb91e9 100644
--- a/ext/libav/Makefile.am
+++ b/ext/libav/Makefile.am
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ libgstlibav_la_LDFLAGS = $(GST_PLUGIN_LDFLAGS) $(DARWIN_LDFLAGS)
 libgstlibav_la_LIBTOOLFLAGS = $(GST_PLUGIN_LIBTOOLFLAGS)
 
 if HAVE_LIBAV_UNINSTALLED
-libgstlibav_la_DEPENDENCIES = $(LIBAV_LIBS)
+libgstlibav_la_DEPENDENCIES = $(LIBAV_DEPS)
 endif
 
 
diff --git a/ext/libswscale/Makefile.am b/ext/libswscale/Makefile.am
index b252c09508..510647ba6e 100644
--- a/ext/libswscale/Makefile.am
+++ b/ext/libswscale/Makefile.am
@@ -11,5 +11,5 @@ libgstavscale_la_LDFLAGS = $(GST_PLUGIN_LDFLAGS) $(DARWIN_LDFLAGS)
 libgstavscale_la_LIBTOOLFLAGS = $(GST_PLUGIN_LIBTOOLFLAGS)
 
 if HAVE_LIBAV_UNINSTALLED
-libgstavscale_la_DEPENDENCIES = $(SWSCALE_LIBS)
+libgstavscale_la_DEPENDENCIES = $(SWSCALE_DEPS)
 endif