4 ms·

I never understood the legal issues there. Contributor License Agreements exist to solve that very problem. Want to make all contributions that are merged back

by franga2000 6y ago

I never understood the legal issues there. Contributor License Agreements exist to solve that very problem. Want to make all contributions that are merged back into the project count as your own? No problem, simply put it in a CLA and make all PR authors sign it. If you get a takedown notice because the author of the PR actually included code they didn't write? You have a binding agreement from them, claiming that they had the right to sign over the code. You remove the code and move on with your life while they get prosecuted directly. It's like buying something at a pawn shop that turns out to have been stolen - you aren't responsible and if they did everything right, neither is the pawn shop.

davidjgraph 6y ago
We have a contract downstream where we provide turnkey delivery of software that uses the project as a base. The contract say we must own all the software delivered and we're liable for it. We don't want to be liable for code not written in-house.
- franga2000 6y ago
  Fair enough, I can definitely see how reviewing contributed code to the required level of scrutiny would probably take at least as long, probably longer, as writing it in-house.
ozim 6y ago
I would add that is not only code contributor did not write. It might be that contributor does not understand his legal obligations to his current employer and I think probably no one is going to attach note from their company that they are allowed to contribute to the project. In the end paw shop is responsible if they are buying stolen goods, signing a paper is not a "get out of the jail free card" because a thief would sign on anything anyway just to sell stuff. Even if you get the paper that contribution is legal there is still a chance of legal trouble.
dodobirdlord 6y ago
The code could be copied from elsewhere, owned by the contributor’s employer, found to be an asset not eligible to be unilaterally signed away in a divorce proceeding, or any number of circumstances in which the contributor is not legally entitled to agree to the CLA. And now you can be sued for damages.

davidjgraph 6y ago

We have a contract downstream where we provide turnkey delivery of software that uses the project as a base. The contract say we must own all the software delivered and we're liable for it. We don't want to be liable for code not written in-house.

franga2000 6y ago
Fair enough, I can definitely see how reviewing contributed code to the required level of scrutiny would probably take at least as long, probably longer, as writing it in-house.

ozim 6y ago

I would add that is not only code contributor did not write. It might be that contributor does not understand his legal obligations to his current employer and I think probably no one is going to attach note from their company that they are allowed to contribute to the project. In the end paw shop is responsible if they are buying stolen goods, signing a paper is not a "get out of the jail free card" because a thief would sign on anything anyway just to sell stuff. Even if you get the paper that contribution is legal there is still a chance of legal trouble.

dodobirdlord 6y ago

The code could be copied from elsewhere, owned by the contributor’s employer, found to be an asset not eligible to be unilaterally signed away in a divorce proceeding, or any number of circumstances in which the contributor is not legally entitled to agree to the CLA. And now you can be sued for damages.