I went to legal-discuss with this and received a satisfactory answer. Here's the proposed patch to the IP clearance page. If I don't get any negative feedback I'll apply the patch within 48 hours.
Index: C:/Dev/apache.org/rw/incubator-public-trunk/site-author/ip-clearance/index.xml =================================================================== --- C:/Dev/apache.org/rw/incubator-public-trunk/site-author/ip-clearance/index.xml (revision 374837) +++ C:/Dev/apache.org/rw/incubator-public-trunk/site-author/ip-clearance/index.xml (working copy) @@ -36,7 +36,8 @@ </p> <p>The receiving PMC is responsible for doing the work. The Incubator is simply the repository of the needed information. Once a PMC directly -checks-in a filled-out short form, everything is done. +checks-in a filled-out short form, the Incubator PMC will need to approve the +paper work after which point the receiving PMC is free to import the code. </p> <p>All PMCs must handle incoming code in this way. Any code that was developed outside of the ASF SVN repository must be processed like @@ -208,6 +209,30 @@ </td> </tr> </table> + <section id="notes"> + <title>Additional notes</title> + <p> + The software grant requires that "Licensor owns or has sufficient + rights to contribute the software source code...". In the case where + there are multiple entities involved that only together have sufficient + rights (for example in the case of an existing external project with + multiple contributors), there are basically two possibilities to continue: + </p> + <ol> + <li> + All entities sign the same software grant together and submit one software + grant form. This is preferred but obviously can complicate the process + considerably. + </li> + <li> + The alternative is that each party sign its own software grant while + everyone references the same contribution (designated by a URL and an MD5 + hash over the ZIP file representing the contribution). It is recommended + that a comment is added to the software grant form that it is only a part + in the puzzle. + </li> + </ol> + </section> </section> </body> </document> On 01.02.2006 14:09:02 Manuel Mall wrote: > On Wednesday 01 February 2006 20:40, Leo Simons wrote: > > On Wed, Feb 01, 2006 at 08:05:01PM +0800, Manuel Mall wrote: > > > We would like to include a software module currently hosted on > > > SourceForge into the codebase of the Apache FOP project. The > > > developers who wrote the module have indicated their willingness to > > > do so (actually are very keen to do this) and we have their ICLAs. > > > What I don't quite understand is the additional software grant > > > (http://www.apache.org/licenses/#grants) required. > > > > > > On the grant form is says: ""Licensor owns or has sufficient > > > rights to contribute the software source code". In this case we > > > don't have a single Licensor but a group of people. How does the > > > form work in such a case as it seems to make the assumption that > > > the Licensor is either a single person or a single organisation? > > > > I think the answer is that every person from that group sends in the > > grant paperwork. The legal-discuss mailing list is probably where to > > query for an authoritive answer. > > > > OK, I'll go to legal-discuss with this question. The problem is if I for > example would be a contributor to the SourceForge project in question > and would get presented with the form I won't be able to sign it (in > good conscience) as I individually have not sufficient rights to > contribute the software. > > > I think that the receiving PMC is the body responsible for figuring > > this stuff out, so they should probably be CCed in (sorry, don't know > > top-of- head which PMC is for FOP). > > It was a member of the receiving PMC (xmlgraphics) who send me to this > mailing list for clarification :-). > > > > > http://incubator.apache.org/ip-clearance/index.html > > > > Is the base URL for incubator-related IP stuff information. > > > > cheers, > > > > Leo > > Manuel Jeremias Maerki --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]