On Sun, Apr 5, 2026 at 6:39 PM Thomas Goirand <[email protected]> wrote:
> Let's say the legal entity is declared illegal or dissolved by a judge. > The whole Debian project (and each of us) would be in danger if we were > to attempt ignoring the judge decision and continue to contribute to > Debian (at least, that's how it works in France). IANAL, but my understanding is that is not necessarily how it works in the different jurisdictions of the US. Debian is (probably) considered something called an unincorporated association, and only some US states consider those separate entities from the individuals who comprise them. In the states that don't consider them separate, all volunteers could potentially be held personally responsible for the actions of the organization. (The case law on this varies about how involved you need to have been with whatever action was taken; some, simply being an active part of the organization is sufficient.) Incorporation would certainly solve that issue by providing a clear target for legal action. I'm not necessarily saying that it would be the correct move, mind you -- merely that the law is not as settled on this topic as we might wish it to be in all jurisdictions to which our members are subject. Sincerely, -- Harlan Lieberman-Berg ~hlieberman
