I would think about this long and hard before committing, having a legal entity opens up the possibility of getting sued in any number of countries where (software) patents are enforceable.
As EMC becomes more popular I would imagine several big players in the industrial control market could drag us into courts and bankrupt the legal entity regardless of the case merits. An alternative might be to start a non-profit fund/foundation to promote future work on EMC which would not be legally responsible for actions of individual EMC developers. Jarl (dallur) On Tue, 2007-08-14 at 09:45 -0500, Ray Henry wrote: > Hi guys. > > These posts bring to mind two long running thoughts, one directly > related to EMC and one not quite so related. > > There was a heated discussion at that long ago FEST meeting in Ann Arbor > when we created the EMC board. It was related to it's (us) becoming a > legal entity. It was my opinion, still is, that we need such an entity > so that we can accept and use contributions to the central benefit of > the project -- contributions of code, cash, or whatever. I don't have a > clue exactly how we would set up and prioritize cash or equipment worthy > projects but many other open source projects have jumped that hurdle and > are legal entities that accept and distribute cash. > > I certainly respect the opinions of the others there that disagreed. In > fact as a condition of the creation of a board we voted that it would > not become a legal entity and it would not accept nor distribute funds. > In hindsight, I think that it might have gotten in the way if folk had > followed by lead. > > What those at the meeting did not know was that I had a couple thousand > dollars in my pocket at that moment, loaned to me by folk/companies who > would have contributed it to the start up entity but required that I not > say anything until the group decided to move in that direction. Over > the years, folk have occasionally sent or passed me a bit of cash which > I've used toward the project but always as I saw fit -- with the advice > of a few of my friends. Matt and I have also mediated the loan of > equipment for specific parts of the project. > > I wonder if it isn't time to rethink the legal entity. I'd be pleased > to pass it the rights to linuxcnc.org, .net, and .com which I received > from Dan Falck, and which expire about the time we elect a new board > next year. I know for a fact that many folk contribute real dollars > toward making parts of EMC work. > > Second thought is connected to the idea of web mediated manufacturing. > Yep someone would need to take the lead at least on a per product basis. > That person would probably never make the kind of wages that a product > coordinator (vice president) might make in a traditional business. > Probably the leader of that first product would not make much at all on > it. There is a lot of manufacturing ability among us. We've got folk > who can handle everything from electronic and computational circuits to > metal working to assembly, distribution, accounting, and product > liability. > > The nice thing about a web mediated manufacturing business is that it > scales nicely. Let me use a couple of fictional names to illustrate. > Pete takes on the task of milling the pendant housing after Bob draws it > up and produces the NGC enabled g-code. If we sell more of them than > Pete can make, Dave might jump in and use his mill a few hours a week. > If Matt get's swamped with assembly perhaps Alex might pick up assembly > for his part of the world. You get the idea. > > Please snip if you reply. > > Rayh > > > > On Tue, 2007-08-14 at 10:08 -0400, Tom Eberhard wrote: > > (lurk mode off) > > > > It might work, but coordinating that many people seems complicated. > > The best option is for you to decide to get started. Make something > > and sell it on ebay, and declare that a portion of the profits go to > > EMC after you cover your material and time. As you make progress > > towards your goal you'll meet your first obstacle and maybe someone > > here will help. > > > > I just got a bridgeport and am figuring out how to go about > > retrofiting. I'm a software engineer, and I'm building a hybrid car. > > See http://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=3070 for a log, but I'm > > taking august off from the project due to other pressing needs. > > > > (resume lurk mode) > > Tom. > > > > On 8/13/07, Kirk Wallace <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > An idea popped into my head today. I was thinking that one way people > > > like me, that may not have the skills to contribute to the development > > > of EMC might be able to contribute in another way. What if we came up > > > with products that would promote the use of EMC such as Jog wheels, > > > beginner's or lab kits (Etch CNC?) or whatever. People donate time with > > > what they may be good at, to make drawings, g-code, machining or project > > > management. Then the items get sold on eBay, with the proceeds going to > > > EMC? Is it "done that, didn't work", "too much work" or "Why" ? > > > > > > Just a thought. > > > > > > Kirk Wallace > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. > > > Still grepping through log files to find problems? Stop. > > > Now Search log events and configuration files using AJAX and a browser. > > > Download your FREE copy of Splunk now >> http://get.splunk.com/ > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Emc-users mailing list > > > Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net > > > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. > > Still grepping through log files to find problems? Stop. > > Now Search log events and configuration files using AJAX and a browser. > > Download your FREE copy of Splunk now >> http://get.splunk.com/ > > _______________________________________________ > > Emc-users mailing list > > Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net > > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. > Still grepping through log files to find problems? Stop. > Now Search log events and configuration files using AJAX and a browser. > Download your FREE copy of Splunk now >> http://get.splunk.com/ > _______________________________________________ > Emc-users mailing list > Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. Still grepping through log files to find problems? Stop. 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