54 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
54 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
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# Copyright Assignment Of Free Software Projects
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An [e-mail today from Paolo Bonzini][0], a maintainer of GNU sed, has prompted
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additional discussion regarding copyright assignment to corporate entities; in
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particular, the discussion focuses on copyright assignment to the FSF under the
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GNU project.
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[0]: http://article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.lang.smalltalk.gnu.general/7873
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An [article by Michael Kerrisk on LWN.net][1], posted a couple days earlier,
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touches on the [same issue brought up by GnuTLS earlier in the month][2]. The
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disagreements from the two aforementioned individuals of the GNU-maintained
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projects prompt a thoughtful analysis of whether copyright assignment is
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appropriate for your own free software project[1]. In contrast, consider the
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[developer certificate of origin][3] policy adopted by the Linux project, under
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which contributors maintain copyright for their contributions.
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There are benefits and downsides to both models---if a project requires
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copyright assignment (such as the GNU projects), then enforcement and license
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modifications are simplified. As an example, if the Linux project wanted to move
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to the GPLv3, they would have to contact each contributor (a similar move was
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done recently [by the VLC project][4], except that they moved from the GPL to
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the LGPL). However, the Linux project has a much smaller barrier to entry---they
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need not [assign copyright of their contributions to the project (such as is the
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case with GNU)][5], meaning that individuals may be more likely to contribute.
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One of the major benefits touted by the FSF for copyright assignments from
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contributors is [copyright enforcement][6]---another complication that would
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arise from enforcing the GPL in a project such as Linux. That said, as the LWN
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article mentions[2], what if [the FSF cannot find the time to enforce the
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copyright on a project violation][7]? Then again, what of the flipside---do you
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have the time or money to enforce violations on your own projects were they not
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assigned to a corporation like the FSF?
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These are interesting discussions and certainly things that should be considered
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when determining how to handle both contributions and the copyright for your
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entire project. Ultimately, that decision falls on you, the author/maintainer,
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and your needs.
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(Disclaimer: I am an associate member of the Free Software Foundation. This
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article does not reflect any of my personal opinions; whether or not I would
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assign copyright to the FSF for any of my projects would be determined based on
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the goals and plan of that particular project.)
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[1]: http://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/529522/854aed3fb6398b79/
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[2]: http://lwn.net/Articles/529558/
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[3]: http://elinux.org/Developer_Certificate_Of_Origin
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[4]: http://mikegerwitz.com/thoughts/2012/11/VLC-s-Move-to-LGPL.html
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[5]: http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/gnulib.git/tree/doc/Copyright/assign.changes.manual#n64
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[6]: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/why-assign.html
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[7]: http://lwn.net/Articles/529777/
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