Thanks guys for all the input. I finally read the CA, and I guess the principal difference between clojure contributions and wikipedia (which you wouldn't even know what the heck it was if they had asked everyone to sign a CA first) contributions - is not the type of content - code vs. prose (and the division is not that sharp either, as both contain both things, and more) - but the various transfers of rights of whom some are on the brink of granting exclusivity. And of course IANAL.
That said, I've contributed to a number of open source projects, none of which required anything physical from me, and which wouldn't have gotten anything from me had they asked, just because I wouldn't have wanted to spend the time on red tape for every single one small patch (although important to me) for every one of those projects. Actually in the past I did also contribute to a bunch of different parts of the iirc biggest open source project - KDE - without ever signing anything, in fact mostly using some alias (so now you where all those pesky bugs originate ;). But I guess it all comes down to what Rich wants to be able to do with the code base and not get locked in by some guys he has to chase for permission later on if he wants to rearrange things, which I can understand. And for those posters telling us not to "waste your time, stop asking questions and just trust Rich": Why don't you stop wasting your time telling us what to do with ours? As this thread shows, it's still an open question, with some people curious for the answer. And even though I'll send the CA out this weekend, I am curious as to why signing is necessary for this project, when it isn't for others. And at least I have some ideas now. In terms of git pull requests by CA signers, I'm still hopeful though, as I don't see the legal issue there, and there's a hint in "please don't send pull requests via GitHub AT THIS TIME". Cheers Eugen On Feb 5, 11:45 am, Mike Meyer <mwm-keyword-googlegroups. 620...@mired.org> wrote: > On Fri, 4 Feb 2011 18:36:34 -0800 > > > > Sean Corfield <seancorfi...@gmail.com> wrote: > > On Fri, Feb 4, 2011 at 6:16 PM, Eugen Dück <eu...@dueck.org> wrote: > > > Is it really necessary, though? We all agree to EULAs and make other > > > more significant legal commitments online all the time, and in some > > > cases without having proven who and where we are. > > > There are certainly some legal transactions that do not accept > > electronic "agreements" and require a physical signature. > > > IANAL so I looked up US copyright law and found this paragraph about > > transfers in Circular 1 (from here > >http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-assignment.html): > > > "Any or all of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights or any > > subdivision of those rights may be transferred, but the transfer of > > exclusive rights is not valid unless that transfer is in writing and > > signed by the owner of the rights conveyed or such owner’s duly > > authorized agent. Transfer of a right on a nonexclusive basis does not > > require a written agreement." > > > So that's why a written signature is required for the Clojure CA. > > Um, read the last line in the quote, about "nonexclusive basis". > > The first bullet of clause two in the CA (downloaded just now) grants > Rich Hickey a "... perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, worldwide > ... license" > > Given that the license is nonexclusive transfer (and I have to wonder > if you'd get any contributors otherwise, or if any other OSS project > has an exclusive transfer), then according to that last line, it "does > not require a written agreement." > > IANAL either, but it sure seems like the current requirements exceeds > what the law requires. > > <mike > -- > Mike Meyer <m...@mired.org> http://www.mired.org/consulting.html > Independent Network/Unix/Perforce consultant, email for more information. > > O< ascii ribbon campaign - stop html mail -www.asciiribbon.org -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Clojure" group. To post to this group, send email to clojure@googlegroups.com Note that posts from new members are moderated - please be patient with your first post. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to clojure+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/clojure?hl=en
