[ros-kernel] Code Copyright Issues

[Steven Edwards]

Hello,
--- Skywing <skywing at valhallalegends.com> wrote:
> It sounds to me like your solution will provide a way for
> people/companies
> to use court orders to force the Foundation to divulge the names of
> individual programmers so that they can be sued in potentially
> frivolous
> lawsuits.  Wasn't the whole point of the Foundation to stop this kind
> of
> thing from happening?

You have two options if say Borland questions your SEH work.

1. You can have the foundation or some other third party defend your
work. Either by signing a NDA with the foundation or by transfering
your copyright to someone willing to take the risk your work is really
your own. That person then would have all rights to your code. This is
why I am in favor of a NDA where you keep your work but the Foundation
knows who you are and is willing to defend you. I dont want the
foundation to own any copyright as it would be a central point of
failure.

2. You can do all of your work as you have under a anonymous name and
then www.reactos.com and sourceforge.net will get slaped with a
injunction to stop distributing ReactOS pending a court case. If you
dont come out in the "open" to defend your work then the code will be
striped of ReactOS anyway, everyones time will be wasted and you wont
be able to contribute to ReactOS in the future.
 
> Needless to say, I'm not exactly keen on signing up for the proposed
> solution...

The solution I propose is simple, you keep your work and you defend it
or let the foundation help you defend it. If you wish to remain
anonymous you might as well license your code as public domain and not
put a author on it unless you plan on defending it.

What is the point of FreeSoftware or "OpenSource" if you wont come out
in the open to defend it?

Thanks
Steven

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