Hey Massimo, Just testing the water, as I was going to contribute to another project in the past and fired a question like this and they didn't give me the response that I wanted just fluffy bits in their answer. With you though, straight to the point and you gave me exactly what I wanted. I've signed the agreement.
I'll send you a digital copy and I'll also post the original today. Cheers, Rhys On Thursday, July 12, 2012 2:34:56 AM UTC+10, Massimo Di Pierro wrote: > > The contributor agreement serves two purposes: > > 1) states you can do anything you want with your contribution. The fact it > becomes part of web2py does not prevent you from selling or modifying or > reusing your contribution. > > 2) gives me legal rights to speak for web2py and - for example - > change/amend/customize the web2py license. > > 2 is really important. I give you some examples: > - In the past we had to change the license from the custom one to the > LGPL. I had the right to do so. Mind that it only makes sense for me > to exercise this right to make it more open. In fact if I were to make it > more restrictive, you would fork web2py. > - A major manufacturing corporation wanted to use web2py for the interface > of an industrial robot. They asked me permission to do so. I told them the > LGPL license gives them such permission. Their legal department asked for a > custom agreement that explicitly allows them to do so. The contributor > agreement gives me the right to write such custom agreement (the agreement > is very much like this one: > http://www.sencha.com/legal/sencha-commercial-software-license-agreement/) > - If there is any need to defend web2py in court, I have the right to do > it. > > Keep in mind that the "community" is not a legal entity. Every open source > project is owed by somebody. And when it is not, it does not last much. RoR > is owned by 37 Signals (a private company), Django is owned by the Django > Foundation (and a foundation is not the same as the "community", it is a > non-for-profit registered company). > > I have considered giving the web2py right to a company or a foundation > but, 1) it would not change for the contributor agreement (it would just > list a different legal entity as copyright holder). 2) it would be more > expensive (a company costs $1000/year and a foundation about double). 3) a > company or a foundation is more likely to go broke than I am as a person. > What would happen to the legal rights on web2py in that case? > > The legal agreement says you do not worry about all of this. I do. > > Massimo > > > On Wednesday, 11 July 2012 05:41:37 UTC-5, Rhys wrote: >> >> Hey Everyone, >> >> I have a few questions about the contributors agreement. I've gotten to >> that point where I would like to contribute where I can, but there are >> somethings which are rattling around in my head. >> >> When this agreement states 'I' or 'me' who or what is that exactly. The >> reason I ask is because of section 2 condition 4: >> >> *you agree that I may register a copyright in your contribution and >> exercise all ownership rights associated with it;* >> >> If I create something which is fantastic say, I don't want an individual >> to own it, only the project/foundation. As a result the copyright is >> remains with the project not an individual. I'm trying to really find out >> where does the buck stop. Is this project a single entity which supports >> it's contributors as no one is given full rights, or is it one individual >> who is given rights for others intellectual property around a project? >> >> No offence Massimo, but I'm a little bit confused because your name is on >> every bit of copyright around web2py I've seen. What is stopping you taking >> out a copyright where you own entire rights so if it can be sold you can >> take the money and run? >> >> I understand why you have these, yet that is a bold condition which I'm >> having trouble making it clear. If someone could make it clearer by showing >> somewhere in the agreement removes such ownership of one individual I'll >> sign it straight away. Maybe I've missed something? >> >> Cheers, >> >> Rhys >> >
