:date: 2016-10-04 ======================== Tuesday, October 4, 2016 ======================== Thanks to :ref:`subha` who worked on :ticket:`1176` and `committed a new file `__. Do we need a Lino Software foundation? ====================================== Subha's contribution reminded me that it is not clear how we should handle certain juristic questions: e.g. Who is the copyright holder of his file? Should we formulate and sign `Contributor License Agreements `_ as Django does it? What would happen if one of us would (accidentally) commit a file with sensitive confidential data or copyrighted content. Who would be liable? Who would be my successor if I happened to die? Should I assign the copyright of all my files to the Lino Team (and ask contributors to do the same)? AFAICS the "Lino Team" currently is an "informal group" of "co-publishers". I now saw an interesting article about this on the `Digital Media Law Project `_. My notes: - AFAICS the Lino Team cannot be considered a partnership because it *does not generate revenue or intend to make and distribute profits*. - (quote) While this form of publishing content has the advantage of informality and flexibility (no formation or operating costs, no burden some bureaucratic requirements), it creates a great deal of uncertainty about the legal and tax status of the co-publishers' relationship. This uncertainty can have negative consequences, including exposing co-publishers to personal liability for the unlawful acts of their colleagues, and creating complications in the management and/or dissolution of the enterprise, as well as certain tax consequences. - (quote) Co-publishers can enter into a formal "co-publishing" agreement in order to clarify the status of their relationship and set out the parameters under which the group will operate. If co-publishers are carrying on a business for profit, then this agreement will be legally indistinguishable from a partnership agreement, and they will have adopted the partnership form of business. If co-publishers are not carrying on a business for profit, then the group won't legally be a partnership, but the agreement can set out group decision-making procedures, delegate duties, and describe what assets (including copyrights) will belong to and be licensed to whom. Currently I am the legal owner of Lino because I am the author. But actually Lino is free software and therefore owned by "us all" who want to use it. And then there is hope if :ref:`rauno` continues to be motivated, that I will want to employ him. A full-time developer requires a bit more of money than :ref:`rumma` has for the moment (it actually depends on how quickly we find new customers). Until now :ref:`rumma` is doing all the work of building and maintaining a Lino community, but finding a legally waterproof answer to these questions requires more expertise than I have. All this seems to confirm that we need a *Lino Software Foundation* (:ticket:`1165`). OTOH, creating a foundation or any other legal form of organization is by itself a lot of administrative work. Who is going to do *this* work? As a funny coincidence, today I plan a live meeting with a friend who might give advice about these questions. About pull requests =================== I surfed about pull requests... - `How to make pull requests *without* a github account? `__ (2012-03-09) - `Why Linus Thorvalds doesn't do github pull requests. `__ (2012-05-11) - The `git request-pull `__ command. ... and started to write :ref:`dev.request_pull`.