Re: FSF status

[Jonathan Larmour <jifl@eCosCentric.com>]

Andrew Lunn wrote:
> Hi Jifl
> 
> Hows it going with FSF?
> 
> Are you still trying to get the eCosCentric copyright assignment
> sorted out?

Yes it is still waiting on them, allegedly their legal department. The 
"copyright clerk" Jonas Jacobson replied to me not that long ago seeming 
to forget much of the thousands of words I have already written to him 
(much at his own request) and almost bringing things back to square one. 
He says there are "issues" but then doesn't say what they are. I'm not 
convinced FSF legal have looked at this at all yet. In my view, I have a 
clear and minor change suggested to their standard copyright assignment 
wording, and there has not been any problem mentioned with it, other than 
the fact it isn't the boiler plate copyright assignment.

All in all, I'm moving past "disappointed" to "irritated" in how they're 
dealing with this. Were it not for eCosCentric's public undertaking to get 
this stuff assigned, I'd have thrown in the towel on this ages ago.

The only reason we can't use their standard assignment template is that it 
assigns all code in "eCos" which is something eCosCentric cannot be 
expected to do as eCosCentric develops extensions to eCos which are not to 
be assigned. You would have thought this would be a simple concept, and 
one the FSF would have already had to deal with, but it appears not.

I reckon there would be some surprised people out there if they found out 
that if you assign to the FSF, you assign all code you ever write 
associated with that project, even code you didn't intend to contribute 
and haven't even told them about.

Given that this issue is straightforward and there's nothing secret about 
it, I don't mind forwarding my past correspondence to any maintainer who 
wants it, but I wouldn't want to bore (or irritate) anyone with it unless 
you do.

Anyway, I have been back and forward, and my last missive to them was 
2006-08-25, to which I am still awaiting a response.

Jifl
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