[OSGeo-Board] contributor agreements

[Frank Warmerdam]

Rich Steele wrote:
> I posted the proposed forms of contributor agreements on the wiki:
> 
> http://www.fossgis.de/osgeo/index.php/Contributor_Agreement

Rich,

The contributor agreements generally look pretty innocuous.

The "grant of copyright license" would seem to give the foundation the
right to release the software under any license it wishes, while not giving
it any right to constrain how the contributor chooses to release their work
to others outside the foundation.  Is that right?  If that is true, we may
run into problems with folks who are concerned that GPL software might be
released under a license that is weaker than the GPL.

Could you elaborate a bit on implications of submitting the work of others?

Could I submit GPLed software from someone else as long as I clearly indicate
it as GPLed, recognizing that the GPLedness of it cannot be undone without
the permission of the original copyright holder?  Is this effectively how
the bulk of software such as GRASS would come into the foundation?

What sort of due diligence would I need to follow as a contributor if I
am wanting to commit a patch received from someone I don't know well?
For instance, for GDAL I often receive small bug fixes from folks I don't
know at all.

Best regards,
-- 
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I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam, warmerdam at pobox.com
light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
and watch the world go round - Rush    | Geospatial Programmer for Rent