[ros-kernel] Code Copyright Issues

[Vizzini]

All,
   
I wanted to reiterate our copyrighted code policies, in case we have any
new contributors around that haven't heard our position on 
this sort of thing.  

Our code contribution policy requires 100% original typing by the
programmer.  You cannot use copy and paste for anything, even headers or
declarations from websites.  You must read the headers, understand what
they mean, and write something that works the same way.  

The same goes with sample code from Microsoft or anyone else, unless it
is explicitly licensed otherwise.  Even the GPL requires that you leave
the copyright notice intact on the original code.  Only code that is
marked as public domain by the author is safe to just copy in.

For what it's worth, the Wine policy is exactly the same, and nobody has
bothered them in spite of their higher profile (think Lindows and
CodeWeavers).  Also, there is a different argument to be made about
whether the above policy is necessary.  I don't want to get into that
now, though.  

Just to be clear, regardless of any argumentation on this list
(including by me) to the contrary, the above is and will remain our
position, unless something important changes.  I know this is a pain,
but it's the only way to be squeaky-clean. 

 -Vizzini