On 12/10/2023 4:05 PM, Shane Curcuru wrote:
I think we have to be careful with the word "contribution". The ASF
cannot accept any contribution that is licensed and copyrighted by
some other entity. To "contribute" the code is to donate the code to
the ASF without retaining any claims to it. Then the code belongs to
the ASF and can be re-licensed as Apache 2.0 with the ASF copyright.
Er, no, that's not how the ASF treats "contributions". In general,
when someone contributes their copyrighted work to an Apache project,
they keep the copyright, and merely license enough rights to the ASF
such that the ASF (through our projects) can then re-ship that
contribution at any point in the future as part of a larger work,
under terms like the Apache-2.0 license.
...[snip]...
That use of the word "contribution" is causing me a little cognitive
dissonance, but I will adapt. Synonyms for "contribution" include
donation, gift, present, grant, etc., most which are not interchangeable
with "contribution" in this context.
How does the copyright holder "license enough rights to the ASF"? I
suppose that is via the license that they chose for the work, rather
than through any specific interaction with the ASF?
Greg
