On 04/27/2014 05:12 AM, Richard Fontana wrote: > On Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 12:02:26PM +0200, Kern Sibbald wrote: >> Since I have worked with the FSFE since 2006, I am quite >> familiar with the GPLv2 and AGPLv3 but am very far from being an expert. >> >> It would also be very useful to have information for developers. In >> particular, where I personally am unsure (please excuse me if these >> topics are already covered): >> >> 1. Exactly who has the right to bring a lawsuit for copyright violation? > Given that you seem to be asking about this specifically in the > context of Bacula, I find your uncertainty about this interesting. Out > of curiosity, is it your view that the AGPLv3 license on Bacula is > coming from you, or coming from FSFE?
Please keep in mind that I am a free software developer since 1998 and not a lawyer ... More detail on my original question: - What I understand is that only a copyright holder can initiate a lawsuit, but the law is much more complicated than at first view. You don't need to answer, but here is an idea of where I was going, which to me from a legal point of view gets very interesting ... - What happens if there are multiple copyright holders? (I believe any can file a lawsuit but only for code for which they have a copyright). - If some copyright holders have an exclusive copyright and some have a non-exclusive copyright, who can initiate a lawsuit? (I believe that only exclusive copyright holders can initiate a lawsuit). In response to your question: My view about Bacula is that the Free Software Foundation has exclusive copyright on "all" the Bacula community source code, and it is marked so in the LICENSE file that comes with the source code. The exceptions are: there are files used in Bacula that are licensed under less restrictive licenses such as the 3 clause BSD, but these are the minority, and one file contains a Bacula Systems copyright (inadvertently and now fixed) but is licensed under the AGPLv3 so there is no issue with this file. I also believe that I (Kern Sibbald) hold a non-exclusive copyright on "all" the Bacula community source code. I cannot speak for the Free Software Foundation Europe, but my understanding based on the Fiduciary License Agreement I signed with them in 2006 and the agreement they signed with myself and Bacula Systems, is that they also agree that I have a non-exclusive copyright on the Bacula community source code. It is very important to me what the Free Software Foundation Europe thinks, because for me they are the "main copyright holder" for the Bacula community source code. However I refer you to what they have written: http://fsfe.org/activities/ftf/bacula-agreement.en.html and the agreement itself, which is mentioned and linked to in the above document: http://fsfe.org/activities/ftf/bacula-agreement-2013.pdf Hopefully this answers your question. Best regards, Kern
