Sivecki Contributor Agreement (SCA) FAQ

From Career Pathways Web Tool

Contents 1 SCA Administration 1.1 Q: I want to contribute. Do I need to sign anything to get started? 1.2 Q: When do I need to fill out an SCA? 1.3 Q: How do I file my completed SCA? Can I do it by email? 1.4 Q: Do I need to fill out a separate SCA for each contribution? 1.5 Q: What if I'm contributing on behalf of my company? 1.6 Q: I've previously assigned copyright in my prospective contribution to the Free Software Foundation (FSF) or some other organization under their contribution policy. So I no longer have the ability to assign a joint copyright to Sivecki. How can I contribute? 1.7 Q: How do I terminate my SCA? 2 Benefits of a Contributor Agreement 2.1 Q: Why do you have a Contributor Agreement? 2.2 Q: What does the SCA do? 2.3 Q: Are Contributor Agreements such as this one common? 2.4 Q: How does the Contributor Agreement help me? 3 The Contributor Agreement and your rights 3.1 Q: Do I lose any rights to my contribution under the SCA? 3.2 Q: What can Sivecki do with my contribution? 3.3 Q: The SCA requires that I agree not to assert my "moral rights." What are moral rights? 3.4 Q: Sivecki gains the benefits of the aggregated code base of an entire project. I only retain the benefit of my own contribution. Isn't that unfair? 3.5 Q: What if Sivecki is acquired, or the rights to a particular code base are transferred? Do I have assurances that the party receiving these rights will continue to honor the SCA? 3.6 Q: I'm hesitant to give Sivecki unlimited ability to initiate enforcement against infringers. As joint copyright holder, do I have a say whether Sivecki enforces the assigned copyright? 3.7 Q: I'd like Sivecki to give me credit for my contributions. Can I expect this? 3.8 Q: I don't want my contribution to end up only in a proprietary product. Does Sivecki promise to publish my contribution under an open-source license? 3.9 Q: Can I be certain that if I contribute to a Sivecki-sponsored project, I'll retain the right to contribute to other, non-Sivecki projects under any license? 4 Discussing the SCA 4.1 Q: I or my company would like to negotiate some changes to the SCA. How do I do this? 4.2 Q: How can I comment to Sivecki about the SCA? 4.3 Q: I see there is a Creative Commons license on the document. Why is that? 4.4 Q: What if the SCA has been revised since I signed it? Can I see previous versions?

SCA Administration

Q: I want to contribute. Do I need to sign anything to get started?

A: Yes. Sivecki requires that contributors to the Career Pathways Web Tool open-source project sign the Sivecki Contributor Agreement (SCA) and email or mail back the completed agreement. A copy of the current version of the SCA can be found on our Licensing page.

Q: When do I need to fill out an SCA?

A: Before you first contribute source code or any other materials like documentation, design specs, bug fixes, or graphics any contribution to the Career Pathways Web Tool open-source project, you must first execute an SCA. This is true no matter how large or small your contribution might be.

Q: How do I file my completed SCA? Can I do it by email?

A: You may send your signed and completed SCA to Sivecki by regular postal mail, or by scanning your completed form and emailing the image. The requirement for a signed document is an unfortunate consequence of copyright law in some jurisdictions.

Q: Do I need to fill out a separate SCA for each contribution?

A: No. One SCA covers all of your contributions to the Career Pathways Web Tool open-source project.

Q: What if I'm contributing on behalf of my company?

A: In that case, an officer of your company (usually a VP or higher title) must sign the SCA on behalf of the company, indicating his or her title. The company can choose to list the specific individuals authorized to make contributions on the "Full Name" line, or may cover all employees with a blanket SCA by not limiting contributors to an authorized list. If necessary, the company may provide a list of authorized contributors in an attachment. The executive signing the SCA must be the first name on such an attached list, and this executive must sign the attachment as well. It may well be the case that your company already has signed a company-wide SCA with Sivecki; you should check first.

Q: I've previously assigned copyright in my prospective contribution to the Free Software Foundation (FSF) or some other organization under their contribution policy. So I no longer have the ability to assign a joint copyright to Sivecki. How can I contribute?

A: The Free Software Foundation will probably have granted you back an unlimited, sublicensable copyright license to your contribution, and other accepting organizations may also grant back such a license. This kind of grant-back copyright license may allow you in turn to grant to Sivecki all the rights needed under the SCA. Please be sure that you have such a grant-back copyright license if you have previously assigned copyright, and wish to contribute the same code or material to the Career Pathways Web Tool open-source project.

Q: How do I terminate my SCA?

A: You can stop your participation in a project at any time, but you cannot rescind your assignments or grants with respect to prior contributions. This protects the whole community, allowing Sivecki and downstream users of the code base to rely on it. Sivecki cannot terminate its responsibilities under the SCA either.

Benefits of a Contributor Agreement

Q: Why do you have a Contributor Agreement?

A: The SCA protects the integrity of a base of code, and in turn it protects the community around that code base: Sivecki, everyone else in a project's developer community and the project's users.

For projects like the Career Pathways Web Tool that require an SCA, Sivecki acts on the community's behalf as a steward of the code in the event of any legal challenge. This is in keeping with how other code stewards, such as the FSF defend projects. In order to represent a code base against legal challenges, Sivecki must have copyright ownership of all the code in that project.

Consolidated copyright of code also allows for the possibility of relicensing the whole code base should that become desirable. When starting an open-source project, the choice of license is intended to be permanent, but the experience of the past few years is that the ability to relicense a project is a useful tool in meeting challenges to free and open-source software (and especially challenges from the proprietary software market), and not having that flexibility may be a drawback. Without aggregated copyright, every single contributor must be contacted and unanimity reached in order to relicense a code base, or parts of the code must be reimplemented. This is true for all but the most permissively-licensed open-source projects.

The joint copyright assignment also allows Sivecki to act as a bridge between different communities using the same code under different licenses. This allows the sharing of code between open-source projects which might otherwise not be possible and it allows Sivecki to license source code to parties who are not yet prepared to work with an open-source license.

Q: What does the SCA do?

A: By executing an SCA, you

• share your copyrights with Sivecki
• license any patents bearing on your contributions to Sivecki
• assert that your contributions are original works
• assert that you are legally entitled to grant Sivecki these rights
• assert that your contributions do not violate anyone else's rights

By accepting an SCA, Sivecki

• promises that your contributions will remain Free and open-source software (i.e. will be published and will remain available by Sivecki under a Free or open-source software license).

The SCA has been drafted in such a way as to be legally enforceable in multiple jurisdictions.

Q: Are Contributor Agreements such as this one common?

A: Yes, many other open-source communities and projects have Contributor Agreements.

Q: How does the Contributor Agreement help me?

A: The SCA lets Sivecki protect community members (both developers and users) from hostile intellectual property litigation should the need arise. The community can have greater confidence that there are no hidden encumbrances with the SCA's assertions, reducing this risk, but not eliminating it. The contributor agreement also includes an "open source covenant", or a promise that a contribution will remain available from Sivecki as free and open-source software.

Sivecki has tried to make the agreement as clear as possible. If you are in doubt about the SCA, you should seek professional legal advice.

The Contributor Agreement and your rights

Q: Do I lose any rights to my contribution under the SCA?

A: No, the SCA only asks you to share your rights. Unlike some contribution agreements that require you to transfer copyrights to another organization, the SCA does not take away your rights to your contributed intellectual property. When you agree to the SCA, you grant Sivecki joint ownership in copyright, and a patent license for your contributions. You retain all rights, title, and interest in your contributions and may use them for any purpose you wish. Other than revoking the rights granted to Sivecki, you still have the freedom to do whatever you want with your code.

Q: What can Sivecki do with my contribution?

A: Sivecki may exercise all rights that a copyright holder has, as well as the rights you grant in the SCA to use any patents you have in your contributions. As the SCA provides for joint copyright ownership, you may exercise the same rights as Sivecki in your contributions.

Q: The SCA requires that I agree not to assert my "moral rights." What are moral rights?

A: Moral rights are additional rights of the creators of copyrighted works recognized in some jurisdictions, and intended to protect the relationship between an artist and his or her work. These rights remain in place even after ownership of the work is shared or transferred. Moral rights typically only apply to visual or artistic works, and not to utilitarian works such as software. They may prohibit the alteration or mutilation of a work, may protect the author's right of attribution or anonymous publication, and in general govern the artistic integrity of a creative work. It would be unusual for moral rights to apply to an open-source contribution, but in the event they do and you live in a jurisdiction that recognizes moral rights, when you sign the SCA you agree not to assert them with respect to your contributions.

Q: Sivecki gains the benefits of the aggregated code base of an entire project. I only retain the benefit of my own contribution. Isn't that unfair?

A: The rights you have in the aggregated code base are not determined by the SCA. Rather, they're a function of the project's license. Open-source licenses confer a lot of rights to users and developers of software. The benefits you seek are very likely available to you in the licenses of the projects themselves.

Q: What if Sivecki is acquired, or the rights to a particular code base are transferred? Do I have assurances that the party receiving these rights will continue to honor the SCA?

A: The SCA does not include any relicensing terms or obligations in the event of transfer of rights. But because contributors retain all their rights, there is no danger that contributions can be made exclusively proprietary. Contributors retain the ability to make sure their contributed material is always freely available.

Q: I'm hesitant to give Sivecki unlimited ability to initiate enforcement against infringers. As joint copyright holder, do I have a say whether Sivecki enforces the assigned copyright?

A: It depends on the circumstances. In order to protect the whole community, when you agree to the SCA, Sivecki gains the right to enforce its copyrights in your contributions. However, copyright ownership is shared, and not transferred: the contributor retains the freedom to make additional arrangements for their contributions as they see fit.

Q: I'd like Sivecki to give me credit for my contributions. Can I expect this?

A: Sivecki would like to consider itself generous with crediting contributors, and is certainly very grateful for the participation and enthusiasm of community members. However, the SCA does not obligate Sivecki to offer any particular form of credit or recognition for contributions.

Q: I don't want my contribution to end up only in a proprietary product. Does Sivecki promise to publish my contribution under an open-source license?

A: Yes, Sivecki will make certain that any contributions that are published under any license, are available under an FSF or OSI approved license as well.

Q: Can I be certain that if I contribute to a Sivecki-sponsored project, I'll retain the right to contribute to other, non-Sivecki projects under any license?

A: There is nothing in the SCA that prohibits you from contributing the same works to other projects remember, you are only asked to share rights, not relinquish them. Contribution policies of other projects to which you might want to contribute may restrict your ability to contribute works you've contributed to a Sivecki project, or to participate in some roles if you have participated in a Sivecki project. Please consult their policies for more information.

Discussing the SCA

Q: I or my company would like to negotiate some changes to the SCA. How do I do this?

A: Sivecki has a policy prohibiting the negotiation of alternative SCAs or amendments. This protects everyone equally, with the goal that no contributor gets special treatment to the detriment of other participants. If the terms of the SCA are not acceptable to you or your company, we can discuss an alternative commercial arrangement.

Q: How can I comment to Sivecki about the SCA?

A: We welcome comments and feedback. Please send your thoughts and feedback to us by email.

Q: I see there is a Creative Commons license on the document. Why is that?

A: The origination of this document came from Sun Microsystems.

"Many community members have asked us if it's OK to use Sun's Contributor Agreement as the basis for their own. We believe we've created a best-practice document here and we are delighted for others to use it for their own open source projects. We have thus made that clear by applying a Creative Commons attribution-share alike license to the copyright of the Sun Contributor Agreement. We would be very interested to hear from you about your views and experiences using the document and would welcome a note to say you are using it."

Q: What if the SCA has been revised since I signed it? Can I see previous versions?

A: Sivecki is currently operating under version 1.0 of the SCA. If updated, previous versions will not be accepted, but will be made available for review only.