On Jul 1, 2004, at 03:12, Nick Phillips wrote:
On Wed, Jun 30, 2004 at 05:00:54PM -0500, Branden Robinson wrote:
On Thu, Jun 10, 2004 at 04:51:06PM -0400, Michael Poole wrote:
# Unless otherwise specified, all modifications, corrections or
# extensions to this work which alter its source code become the
# property of Best Practical Solutions, LLC when submitted for
# inclusion in the work.
No, it's not. It's only saying that *if* you submit them for inclusion
in
the work.
No, it says "when submitted for inclusion in the work." There is no
"you" in there.
What if someone else submits my patch for inclusion? Like, I donno, the
Debian maintainer?
I think it's different. Their intention is obvious -- to cover their
arses
against the possibility that someone submits a patch and then sues for
a
portion of their profits. If you don't want to pass ownership of your
patch
to them, don't send it in. This is merely an attempt to reduce the
hassle
of accepting patches.
If that is their intent, then they have botched it. This supposed
copyright assignment doesn't work, at least in the US. If they are
depending on this, then they are in trouble.
It seems reasonable to me.
I suggest that the following would be more reasonable, maybe even
legal, and DFSG-free to boot:
Best Practical Solutions, LLC, will only accept for inclusion material
for which it has been granted license to copy, modify, and distribute
without restriction. If you submit material for inclusion, unless you
note otherwise, you grant Best Practical Solutions, LLC a non-exclusive
license to the above.
(Wording needs a little help, but you get the idea)
