This and other RFCs are available on the web at http://dev.perl.org/rfc/ =head1 TITLE The Copyright and Licensing Working Group =head1 VERSION Maintainer: Bradley M. Kuhn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: 2 Aug 2000 Last MOdified: 28 Sep 2000 Mailing List: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Number: 13 Version: 2 Status: Developing =head1 ABSTRACT Copyright and licensing issues are bound to come up repeatedly in the development of F<perl6>, both in new code that is created, and in code from other projects that is to be reused. The Licensing and Copyright Working Group deals with these issues as they come up. Since these issues are ongoing, the Working Group must live on even after the initial language design is completed. =head1 DESCRIPTION The Copyright and Licensing Working Group handles the inevitable copyright and licensing issues that come up in the development of F<perl6>. These copyright and licensing issues mostly likely take one of the following two forms: =over =item a Decisions about licensing and copyright of new code developed. =item b Decisions and consensus building concerning licensing issues of support libraries or tools developed by other groups. =back =head2 Copyright and Licensing Issues with New Code One major task of this working group is consideration of copyright and licensing decisions of code that is developed by the F<perl6> developers. A copyright holder policy must still be developed. Some projects, such as Linux, use a system of separate copyright holders for different files, depending on who edits which file. Other projects, such as GCC, use copyright assignments to a single organization. Still other projects assign all copyright to a single individual. All of these systems have their advantages and disadvantages. This working group is charged with the task of building an RFC that proposes a copyright holder system that works for F<perl6>. As of yet, no work has been done on this front, since the focus has been on the license of F<perl6>. Second, licensing decisions must be made concerning F<perl6>. The Working Group is considering proposed changes to the Artistic License. RFCs are now being developed on this issue, and they should be completed by the 1 October 2000 deadline for Larry Wall's perusal. =head2 Licensing Issues with Other Code and Tools In early design discussions, F<perl6> developers already started to propose reusing existing free software to make the job of building F<perl6> easier. Such code reuse is a fundamental part of free software development, but can be complicated by the plethora of different (and possibly incompatible) licenses used in the community. This working group is charged with the task of sorting out these issues, so that the other developers can focus on choosing the right technology. When reuse of some code or a tool is considered, another working group can defer licensing concerns to the Copyright and Licensing Working Group. This will save valuable time and endless "Will this license mess us up?" threads. =head1 IMPLEMENTATION There are three things that were done to create this working group: =over =item * A declaration from the Project Manager that creates this working group. (This was done shortly after the first version of this RFC). =item * The creation of a mailing list, [EMAIL PROTECTED], which will be the top-level mailing list for this working group. (This was done shortly after the first version of this RFC). =item * Appointment of coordinator of the working group. S<Bradley M. Kuhn> E<lt>[EMAIL PROTECTED]<gt> has volunteered for this job. (This was done shortly after the first version of this RFC). =back However, it should be noted that this Working Group's life should be extended beyond the first phase of development. The need for licensing discussion will likely continue throughout development. (For example, we do not yet know what third-party free software libraries might be used to help develop F<perl6>). Therefore, it is requested that this Working Group continue to live at least through the early stages of coding, if not longer. =head1 OPEN ITEMS Pending issues for the working group include: =over =item * Decisions about copyright holdership of F<perl6>. =item * Development of final proposals concerning the license of code written by F<perl6> developers. (Should be completed for 1 October 2000 deadline.) =item * Consideration of any issues concerning what other free software code can be included in the F<perl6> core without licensing concerns. =head1 REFERENCES None.
