Go to:
Gentoo Home
Documentation
Forums
Lists
Bugs
Planet
Store
Wiki
Get Gentoo!
Gentoo's Bugzilla – Attachment 890074 Details for
Bug 929012
Vote on GLEP 76 change: Shift responsibilities from Trustees to Council
Home
|
New
–
[Ex]
|
Browse
|
Search
|
Privacy Policy
|
[?]
|
Reports
|
Requests
|
Help
|
New Account
|
Log In
[x]
|
Forgot Password
Login:
[x]
Full text of GLEP 76 version 2
glep-0076.rst (text/plain), 16.06 KB, created by
Ulrich Müller
on 2024-04-09 16:51:57 UTC
(
hide
)
Description:
Full text of GLEP 76 version 2
Filename:
MIME Type:
Creator:
Ulrich Müller
Created:
2024-04-09 16:51:57 UTC
Size:
16.06 KB
patch
obsolete
>--- >GLEP: 76 >Title: Copyright Policy >Author: Richard Freeman <rich0@gentoo.org>, > Alice Ferrazzi <alicef@gentoo.org>, > Ulrich Müller <ulm@gentoo.org>, > Robin H. Johnson <robbat2@gentoo.org>, > MichaŠGórny <mgorny@gentoo.org> >Type: Informational >Status: Active >Version: 2 >Created: 2013-04-23 >Last-Modified: 2024-04-09 >Post-History: 2018-06-10, 2018-06-19, 2018-08-31, 2018-09-26, 2023-03-02, > 2024-04-04 >Content-Type: text/x-rst >--- > > >Status >====== > >Accepted by the Gentoo Council on 2018-09-09 and approved by the >Gentoo Board of Trustees on 2018-09-15. Reapproved with clarified >real name requirement on 2018-10-19. Marked as Active on 2018-10-21. >Reapproved with relaxed real name policy on 2023-04-01. > > >Abstract >======== > >This GLEP introduces a copyright and licensing policy for Gentoo >projects. It requires all contributions of software or documentation >to be released under a free license, and to be accompanied by a >certificate of origin. > > >Motivation >========== > >The copyright ownership of Gentoo materials is ambiguous due to >historical factors, and this GLEP attempts to improve the process >going forward. > >In the beginning (2000 or earlier), the copyright header stated that >*Gentoo Technologies, Inc.* was the copyright holder, without any >formal paperwork. The formal assignment document was however only >introduced in early 2004. The assignment had many objectors (mostly >on the ``gentoo-core`` mailing list). The developer recruiting >procedures attempted to require signing of the document as a condition >for becoming a developer, but it was not applied to pre-existing >developers, or those that objected. > >Later, the *Gentoo Foundation* was established, and copyrights were >formally transferred (including nullifying original developer >assignments to *Gentoo Technologies, Inc.*), and the copyright header >was updated. The formal assignment document text was updated in 2006, >but the formal assignment process had already been abandoned in >mid-2004. > >Throughout this, the presence of copyright headers existed as a >policy, and continues to exist to this day. Some files also still >contain or have in the past contained additional copyright headers, >attributing ownership to other parties. > >The policy to have copyright notices ascribing copyright ownership to >the Gentoo Foundation caused an issue when Gentoo developers forked >another project and hosted the fork on Gentoo infrastructure. To >comply with the previous policy the copyright notices were modified, >which caused concerns with the project the files were forked from. >Our previous policy completely neglected the possibility that Gentoo >might want to host files that were not created internally. > >Finally, since the early days of Gentoo new ideas around copyright >licensing have become more popular, such as the FSFE's Fiduciary >License Agreement [#FLA]_, which takes a copyleft approach to >copyright licensing, while also better complying with copyright laws >in nations that have author's rights. > >The goal here was to create a policy that was flexible enough to cover >forks and situations where Gentoo would not own the majority of the >copyright in a file. > > >Specification >============= > >Purpose / Scope >--------------- > >This policy documents how Gentoo contributors comply and document >copyright for any contributions made to Gentoo. Anyone committing >documentation or sources to any repository hosted on Gentoo >infrastructure or to any official Gentoo project (independently >of hosting) must comply with this policy. Unofficial Gentoo projects >are also recommended to use this policy. > >Questions regarding this policy should be directed to the Council >or the ``gentoo-project`` mailing list. Any concerns over possible >copyright violations should be directed to the Council if they cannot >be worked out with the appropriate maintainer. > > >Licensing of Gentoo Projects >---------------------------- > >Every Gentoo project must abide by the Gentoo Social Contract >[#SOCIAL-CONTRACT]_ and release its work under one or more of the >following: > >a) The GNU General Public License, version 2 or later (GPL-2+) > [#GPL-2]_. > >b) The Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License > (CC-BY-SA-4.0, only for documentation) [#CC-BY-SA-4.0]_. > Existing projects may also stay with CC-BY-SA-3.0 [#CC-BY-SA-3.0]_. > >c) A license approved as GPL compatible by the Free Software > Foundation [#GPL-COMPAT]_. > >Exceptions for other free software licenses will be granted by the >Gentoo Council on a case by case basis. > > >Certificate of Origin >--------------------- > >All commits to Gentoo project repositories shall be accompanied by a >certificate of origin. The purpose of the certificate is to declare >that the contribution can be modified and redistributed in accordance >with the project's license. > >For commits made using a VCS, the committer shall certify agreement to >the Certificate of Origin by adding :: > > Signed-off-by: Name <e-mail> > >to the commit message as a separate line, using a known identity >as a natural person. This could be the committer's real name >or an established online identity. > >The following is the current Gentoo Certificate of Origin, revision 1: > > By making a contribution to this project, I certify that: > > 1. The contribution was created in whole or in part by me, and I > have the right to submit it under the free software license > indicated in the file; or > > 2. The contribution is based upon previous work that, to the best > of my knowledge, is covered under an appropriate free software > license, and I have the right under that license to submit that > work with modifications, whether created in whole or in part by > me, under the same free software license (unless I am permitted > to submit under a different license), as indicated in the file; > or > > 3. The contribution is a license text (or a file of similar nature), > and verbatim distribution is allowed; or > > 4. The contribution was provided directly to me by some other > person who certified 1., 2., 3., or 4., and I have not modified > it. > > I understand and agree that this project and the contribution > are public and that a record of the contribution (including all > personal information I submit with it, including my sign-off) is > maintained indefinitely and may be redistributed consistent with > this project or the free software license(s) involved. > >The Gentoo Certificate of Origin is licensed under a Creative Commons >Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License [#CC-BY-SA-4.0]_. >It is based on the Linux Kernel DCO [#OSDL-DCO]_, released by Open >Source Development Labs, Inc. in 2005 under a CC-BY-SA-2.5 License. > >Alternatively, and if it is applicable, committers can certify their >commits with the Linux Kernel DCO 1.1 [#DCO-1.1]_. This shall be >indicated by adding ``(DCO-1.1)`` at the end of the ``Signed-off-by`` >line. Using the Gentoo Certificate of Origin is strongly preferred. > > >Copyright Attribution >--------------------- > >All copyrightable files included in Gentoo projects must contain >appropriate copyright and license notices, as defined by this policy. >For files in textual format, these notices normally appear near the >top of the file. When technical limitations do not allow for text >notices in the file itself (e.g., for binary image file formats), >copyright and license can be stated in an accompanying text file in >the same directory. > >A proper copyright notice reads:: > > Copyright YEARS MAIN-CONTRIBUTOR [OTHER-CONTRIBUTOR]... [and others] > >It must list the main copyright holder, who is usually the original >author, or the contributor holding copyright to the largest portion >of the file. Additional copyright holders can be listed, but this is >normally not required. The "and others" text may be omitted if the >explicitly listed contributors hold copyright to the entire file. >In some jurisdictions, the copyright holder can also be a company or >other legal entity, and therefore be different from the original >author. > >Any requirement (e.g., by law, or by the file's license) to keep >existing copyright notices intact is not affected by this policy. > >Anyone finding a file out of compliance should file a bug against the >associated project/package providing as much information as possible. >Files that are not brought into compliance within 60 days or upon a >request for removal by a aggrieved copyright holder will be removed. >Any concerns not addressed by a maintainer can be appealed to the >Council. > > >Simplified Attribution >---------------------- > >Alternatively, projects are welcome to use a simplified form of the >copyright notice, which reads:: > > Copyright YEARS Gentoo Authors > >Projects using this scheme must track authorship in a VCS, unless they >list all authors of copyrightable contributions in an ``AUTHORS`` file. > > >Rationale >========= > >Policy >------ > >This document aims to provide a single consistent copyright policy for >all Gentoo projects. It is explicitly enforced for all official Gentoo >projects in order to protect the interests of Gentoo as a whole, >including its contributors, developers and users. Additionally, it is >enforced for all other projects hosted on Gentoo infrastructure in order >to protect the Gentoo infrastructure owners and improve consistency. > >The copyright model is built on the DCO model used by the Linux kernel >and requires all contributors to certify the legitimacy of their >contributions. This also requires that they use a known identity for >signing; an anonymous certification would not mean anything. >This policy is derived from the Linux project's policy as of 2023-02-27 >[#SUBMITTING-PATCHES]_. > >In the future, a second stage of this policy may use a combination of >the DCO model and an FLA model [#FLA]_ as it is used by different open >source projects. Contributors would be able to freely choose whether >they sign the FLA document or not. > >After Gentoo Linux has become an associated project of Software in the >Public Interest (SPI) [#SPI]_, the Gentoo Council will be responsible >for granting of license exceptions and resolution of copyright issues, >instead of the Gentoo Foundation Trustees. The Council may confer >with SPI for issues that it cannot resolve itself. > > >Licensing of Projects >--------------------- > >The Social Contract mentions GPL-2 and CC-BY-SA-2.0, both with the >option to use them in a later version ("at our discretion"). In order >to facilitate interchange of software between different projects, we >aim for uniformity of their licensing. Therefore, items a) and b) >explicitly recommend the use of GPL-2+ and CC-BY-SA-4.0. The latter >is restricted to be used for documentation, because Creative Commons >themselves recommend against using their licenses for software >[#CC-SOFTWARE]_. > >Other GPL-compatible free software licenses that are not explicitly >listed are allowed by item c). This covers cases where compatibility >to licenses used by upstream projects is necessary. (For example, >the Gentoo BSD project may want to use the 2-clause or 3-clause BSD >license.) > >By default, GPL-incompatible licenses (e.g., the CDDL) are not >allowed, because their use would hinder interchange of code between >Gentoo projects. However, the Council can grant exceptions to this, >as long as the license in question is a free software or open source >license. > > >Changes to the Certificate of Origin >------------------------------------ > >The Gentoo Certificate of Origin rev. 1 has been based on Linux Kernel >DCO 1.1 [#OSDL-DCO]_. It features the following modifications from >the original: > >i. The enumeration has been modified to use numeric points. > >ii. Additional point 3. has been inserted: > > 3. The contribution is a license text (or a file of similar > nature), and verbatim distribution is allowed; or > >iii. The original point (c) has shifted to become point 4., and has > been updated to account for the additional point 3. > >iv. The original point (d) has been transformed into a stand-alone > paragraph following the enumeration. > >v. The term "open source" has been replaced by "free software" > throughout. > >The new point was deemed necessary to allow committing license files >into the Gentoo repository, since those files usually do not permit >modification. It has been established that adding a clear provision >for this case is better than excluding those commits from compliance >with the Certificate of Origin. Debian was facing a similar problem >[#DEBIAN-LICENSE]_. > >The update of point (c) was necessary to allow the new clause being >certified by the person providing the contribution. > >The term "free software" is used for consistency with the language >of the Gentoo Social Contract [#SOCIAL-CONTRACT]_. > >The remaining changes were merely editorial. The original point (d) >is not part of the *or* statement joining the other points, so keeping >it in a paragraph separate from the enumeration is more appropriate. > >Addition of another point for public domain material was also >considered. However, it is preferred if all contributions carry >an explicit license notice that allows their certification under >point 1. or 2. If necessary, license tools like Creative Commons >CC0 [#CC0-1.0]_ or Public Domain Mark [#CC-PDM-1.0]_ can be used. > > >Copyright Notice >---------------- > >Especially for ebuild repositories, constantly keeping track of the >main copyright holder of any file would be rather inconvenient and >tedious. Therefore, projects are free to use either a traditional >copyright notice listing the individual author(s), or a simplified >notice with an attribution to the "Gentoo Authors". The latter >resembles the scheme used by the Chromium project [#CHROMIUM]_. > > >Acknowledgements >================ > >Many people have participated in invaluable discussions on this GLEP. >In particular, the authors would like to thank David Abbott, >Roy Bamford, Kristian Fiskerstrand, Andreas K. Hüttel, Manuel Rüger, >Matija Šuklje, Matthew Thode, and Alec Warner for their input. > > >References >========== > >.. [#FLA] FSFE Legal: Fiduciary Licence Agreement (FLA), > https://fsfe.org/activities/fla/fla.en.html > >.. [#SOCIAL-CONTRACT] Gentoo Social Contract, > https://www.gentoo.org/get-started/philosophy/social-contract.html > >.. [#GPL-2] GNU General Public License, version 2 or later, > https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html > >.. [#CC-BY-SA-4.0] Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 > International License, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ > >.. [#CC-BY-SA-3.0] Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 > Unported License, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ > >.. [#GPL-COMPAT] GPL-compatible free software licenses, > https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.en.html#GPLCompatibleLicenses > >.. [#OSDL-DCO] Open Source Development Labs, Inc., > Developer's Certificate of Origin 1.1, > https://web.archive.org/web/20060524185355/http://www.osdlab.org/newsroom/press_releases/2004/2004_05_24_dco.html > >.. [#DCO-1.1] Developer's Certificate of Origin 1.1, > https://developercertificate.org/ > >.. [#SUBMITTING-PATCHES] Submitting patches: the essential guide to > getting your code into the kernel, > https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst?id=d4563201f33a022fc0353033d9dfeb1606a88330#n410 > https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=d4563201f33a022fc0353033d9dfeb1606a88330 > >.. [#SPI] Software in the Public Interest, > https://www.spi-inc.org/ > >.. [#CC-SOFTWARE] Can I apply a Creative Commons license to software? > https://creativecommons.org/faq/#can-i-apply-a-creative-commons-license-to-software > >.. [#DEBIAN-LICENSE] [debian-legal] License of the GPL license, > https://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2018/04/msg00006.html > >.. [#CC0-1.0] Creative Commons: CC0 1.0 Universal, > https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ > >.. [#CC-PDM-1.0] Creative Commons: Public Domain Mark 1.0, > https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ > >.. [#CHROMIUM] Contributing to Chromium, > https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/main/docs/contributing.md#Legal-stuff > > >Copyright >========= > >This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 >International License. To view a copy of this license, visit >https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.
You cannot view the attachment while viewing its details because your browser does not support IFRAMEs.
View the attachment on a separate page
.
View Attachment As Raw
Actions:
View
Attachments on
bug 929012
:
890073
| 890074