Re: Copyright assignment

[Alan Cox <alan lxorguk ukuu org uk>]

On Sul, 2004-08-08 at 13:31, Miguel de Icaza wrote:
> The developer gets the code back to `use the Works as developers sees
> fit'.

The ownership remains with Novell.

> > Similarly it removes the ability to build on code by reuse, since the
> > owner of the code being reused may not wish to assign the use and cannot
> > viably go around assigning it to Novell, Sun and everyone else.
> 
> I do not understand your scenario.

If there is a large useful piece of third party code then I cannot use
it in Evolution because I am not the original owner, even though the GPL
encourages such reuse, and such reuse is the basis of the power of the
free software movement. Instead I must rewrite it.

Also if I contribute code to Evolution then Novell ends up owning it so
I cannot contribute the same code to Open Office (because Sun demand to
own it) - and of course vice versa. So a programmer would have to write
three implementations for something generic - one for Sun, one for
Novell and one for everyone else.

> > Since the contract says "supporting files" that appears to prohibit
> > submitting a patch to Evolution which uses a third party library since
> > that third party library is "supporting files" and the contributor does
> > not own it.
> 
> We could not incorporate such code;  See section 6(a).

Which damages the process of creating good software. You are forcing a
lot of extra work to be done which benefits nobody in the free software
world.

Alan