First, if you have a patch to the code, please start the discussion on the wix-devs mailing list about that patch. There should be no confusion about that. We talk about the code on wix-devs.
Now, Pedrum is still waiting for an answer for his last patch... but I'll get to that (hopefully, this Tuesday). <smile/> The rest of this discussion is pretty much all about legal issues. So, just so everyone is clear, I'm not a lawyer and I can't provide legal advice. If you want these questions answered legally, you'd want to talk with a lawyer. With the required (yes, it is required) disclaimer out of the way, here's how I understand what the lawyers have told me. 1. The Windows Installer XML toolset was originally written by me while I worked at Microsoft. It was then contributed to by several other Microsoft employees. Like most software developers (at least ones I've met employed in the US), we have an employment agreement that says all our work is property of the company we work for and specific exceptions have to be made for anything else. Thus, Microsoft owns the WiX toolset. Full stop. 2. The lawyers that have been in IP disputes tell me it is far easier to legally protect code that has a single copyright owner. Why? Well, should the project enter into any legal proceedings all copyright owners have to attend and agree to all decisions that come out of the legal proceedings. I've been told it is extremely difficult to go into legal proceedings where multiple parties (who often have different expectations for the end result) have to act as a single entity. 3. As I understand it, to avoid the problems in 2 many Open Source software projects require an assignment agreement. The Free Software Foundation requires it for any contributions to GNU. The Apache Foundation requires it for any contributions to Apache. SugarCRM requires it for any contributions to SugarCRM. Looking at the license for NUnit, it appears they have not chosen to go this route. 4. For argument's sake, let's say there was a non-profit organization that held the copyright for the WiX toolset. I believe the assignment agreement would still be necessary. As I understand it, there are too many legal risks maintaining a project with multiple copyright owners. As it is, I feel more comfortable knowing that the WiX toolset is looked after by Microsoft instead of a group that doesn't have the legal resources to defend the project. So, if you have contributions, please let's have the discussions about the code on the wix-devs mailing list. If the developer that provides the submissions, sends in an assignment agreement, those changes will be able to be integrated and made available in future releases. Otherwise, the changes will just have to hang out there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Using Tomcat but need to do more? Need to support web services, security? Get stuff done quickly with pre-integrated technology to make your job easier Download IBM WebSphere Application Server v.1.0.1 based on Apache Geronimo http://sel.as-us.falkag.net/sel?cmd=lnk&kid=120709&bid=263057&dat=121642 _______________________________________________ WiX-users mailing list WiX-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wix-users
