Re: [gentoo-dev] Why should copyright assignment be a requirement?

[Jon Portnoy]

On Thu, Aug 21, 2003 at 02:51:13PM +1000, Troy Dack wrote:
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> > On Thu, Aug 21, 2003 at 12:09:17AM -0400, Paul wrote:
> >> 	Hi;
> >>
> >> 	A long while back, I asked if it was a requirement
> >> for ebuild submiters to assign copyright. I was told
> >> no, GPL license was entirely sufficient. I think this has
> >> changed, or was untrue.
> >> 	Now, Ive already given up on the submission
> >> process, but I _am_ curious about this policy, as I
> >> havent yet given up on Gentoo itself.
> >>
> >> Paul
> >> set@×××××.com
> >
> > I would be very interested in hearing your issues with ebuild
> > submission, if you'd like to contact me privately about it.
> >
> > With regards to copyrights, it's necessary for us to own copyright on
> > ebuilds in order to defend our intellectual property. If we (Gentoo
> > Technologies) don't own copyright on ebuilds (and other pieces of
> > Gentoo), we have no legal leg to stand on if someone (for example)
> > attempts to put a more restrictive license on that piece of intellectual
> > property.
> >
> > In short: if we don't own copyright, we can't defend ourselves.
>
> [Note I am not versed in the many nuances of copyright law]
>
> I can understand this position, however I think some people feel that this
> is in some way removing or diminishing the fact that they have made a
> contribution to Gentoo.
>

Why? Attribution is given in ChangeLogs as per policy.

> Would it not be possible for copyright to be assigned to Gentoo and the
> author of the ebuild?

That's what we needed information from Daniel's lawyer about.

>
> I believe that this has been discussed previously on this list (when I get
> a chance I'll search my archive) and that there was an agreement reached
> between Gentoo and an educational institution on this very matter.
>

Was that agreement actually reached? I have been away from development 
and not very involved for a couple weeks.

CC'ing Daniel for more information.

-- 
Jon Portnoy
avenj/irc.freenode.net

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