Hi all,
As discussed multiple times earlier, but most recently at [1], we're
going to take the next step on managing the IP of Puppet and related
projects.
This is currently a proposal, so please speak up if you have any
concerns about this.
Basically, our plan is to stick to either GPL or MIT+GPL for all of
our projects, and all contributors will need to either sign a CLA or
contribute their code under the MIT.
Non-core tools like Facter will have MIT attached so that they can
easily be used wherever you want, and the core projects like Puppet
and Dashboard will be GPL'd. Our goal is to have enhanced rights to
all of the code in the projects we maintain so we can relicense to
partners and customers.
Note I didn't say 'own' - we're using a form of the Apache CLA, which
just gives us enhanced rights, not ownership. If you're not
comfortable with that, or if your contribution is small enough that
it's not worth signing a CLA, you can submit your code under the MIT
(or equivalent, I assume) license, which gives us (and everyone else)
the right to relicense your code.
We've got a plugin ready for Redmine (written for us by Eric Davis of
LittleStream Software) that will track who's signed a CLA, and it has
a click-through agreement just like Google uses, so signing a CLA
should be entirely easy.
We'll be working through the list of contributors in the next quarter
or so. If you're a contributor and haven't yet signed a CLA, you
should expect to hear from Amy Hoang, who will be working through the
list. We'll be installing the Redmine plugin in the next week, at
which point we'll send out another email.
Also - we know that nearly everyone is moving toward an Apache license
rather than GPL. We don't rule out such a move in the future, and
doing so would still require that we get these enhanced rights, but
from I can tell the GPL does a much better job of encouraging a
profitable ecosystem. This is something we'll be revisiting
constantly, but it seems the right answer for now.
1 - http://www.mail-archive.com/puppet-users@googlegroups.com/msg07284.html
--
'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and
remove all doubt. --Abraham Lincoln
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Luke Kanies -|- http://puppetlabs.com -|- +1(615)594-8199
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Puppet
Users" group.
To post to this group, send email to puppet-us...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
puppet-users+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/puppet-users?hl=en.
