I am still new to Apache processes. According to the following DB project guidelines, "All contributors should have a Contributor License Agreement <http://www.apache.org/licenses/#clas>on file." I know bug patches are exempt from this requirement.
http://db.apache.org/source.html
Having a CLA on file does clear things up but we don't want everyone to be forecd to have a lawyer review some agreement before contributing. There's no real distinction between posting a patch for a bug fix or posting a patch that is an enhancement or improvement.
Now if the patch is a large body of work (by some definition of large) then we may well ask for a CLA, confirmation from the contributor's employer that they approve of the contribution, and possibly a software grant from them as well if it was something they may have title to. The premis is
1) if they did the work for a company we need to know that the company wants it contributed (sw grant and CCLA required)
2) if they did the work independently that their employer is aware
Finally, if someone does do a large body of work then there's a real good chance that they will become a committer at which point a CLA will be required anyway.
-- Jeremy
