From 3eeaaac06723f3ea2abd78292b16e25fb9c92bed Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Richard Brooksby Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2023 22:33:42 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Simplifying licensing of contributions by deeming them to conform to exisitng licenses unless expressly stated otherwise in the contribution request. --- mps/contributing.rst | 24 ++++++------------------ mps/procedure/pull-request-merge.rst | 27 ++++++--------------------- 2 files changed, 12 insertions(+), 39 deletions(-) diff --git a/mps/contributing.rst b/mps/contributing.rst index 0c3a2fcc8f0..38de05c8c6c 100644 --- a/mps/contributing.rst +++ b/mps/contributing.rst @@ -26,24 +26,12 @@ The style guide in guide.impl.c.format_ contains basic rules for style. Licensing --------- -Prior to the 2020-05 re-licensing of the MPS under the BSD 2-clause -license, we required contributors to agree to the following -contribution agreement, so that we could continue to commercially -license the MPS and thereby fund future development. We have not yet -decided what may replace this requirement. - - I grant Ravenbrook Ltd an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, - non-exclusive licence to do anything with [your contribution] that I - would have the right to do. This includes (but is not limited to): - - 1. reproducing it and doing any other act that is restricted by - copyright; - - 2. the right to sublicence to others the code and any derivative - work. - -A member of Ravenbrook staff may ask you to expressly (in writing) agree. -You just need to reply with “I agree.” We apologise for the inconvenience. +All contributions are deemed to have been made under the same license +as the material to which the contribution is made, unless you +expressly state otherwise in your contribution request. In nearly all +cases this is the `BSD 2-clause license +`_. You retain the +copyright to such contributions. Thank you diff --git a/mps/procedure/pull-request-merge.rst b/mps/procedure/pull-request-merge.rst index 865302c8376..8611920909a 100644 --- a/mps/procedure/pull-request-merge.rst +++ b/mps/procedure/pull-request-merge.rst @@ -96,28 +96,13 @@ omitted for now. RB 2023-01-07] 4. Merging a development branch ------------------------------- -1. Ensure that the contributor has either: +1. Ensure that the contributor has not expressed any kind of variation + on the licensing of their work from the material to which they are + contributing. (See `"Licensing" in "Contributing to the MPS" + <../contributing.rst#licensing>`.) - - licensed their work under an open source licence that is at least - as permissive as `the MPS licence <../license.txt>`_ (the `BSD - 2-clause license - `_), preferably the - same licence - - - granted Ravenbrook the licence described in `Contributing to the - MPS <../contributing.rst>`_ - - If they haven't, this procedure fails. Talk to them or get someone - to talk to them. - - [We can probably reduce the overhead of this step with a clause - similar to `Syncthing's Licensing clause - `_ - in `our own contributing document <../contributing.rst>`_. RB - 2023-01-07] - - Note: the `GPL `_ is - *not* compatible with the MPS. + If they have, this procedure fails. Talk to them or get someone to + talk to them about the issue. 2. Fetch the branch that you are going to merge to a local branch using the MPS durable branch naming convention,