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 >
