Do Read: Diaspora Contributor Agreement
Developer licensing gets a bit sticky.
We wrote last week about Diaspora, the open source social network designed to offer privacy to users who are fed up with Facebook's regular policy changes and the threat of privacy violation. Last week, the site and its code went live for developers, but for those out there ready to dive into the social networking platform should take note: A few passage from the Contributor Agreement have members of the open source community concerned.
You hereby assign to us joint ownership, and to the extent that such assignment is or becomes invalid, ineffective or unenforceable, you hereby grant to us a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, worldwide, no-charge, royalty-free, unrestricted license to exercise all rights under those copyrights. This includes, at our option, the right to sublicense these same rights to third parties through multiple levels of sublicensees or other licensing arrangements;
You agree that each of us can do all things in relation to your contribution as if each of us were the sole owners, and if one of us makes a derivative work of your contribution, the one who makes the derivative work (or has it made) will be the sole owner of that derivative work.
And later:
With respect to any patents you own, or that you can license without payment to any third party, you hereby grant to us a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, worldwide, no-charge, royalty-free license to: (i) make, have made, use, sell, offer to sell, import, and otherwise transfer your contribution in whole or in part, alone or in combination with or included in any product, work or materials arising out of the project to which your contribution was submitted; and (ii) at our option, to sublicense these same rights to third parties through multiple levels of sublicensees or other licensing arrangements.
In short, Diaspora can take and use any contributions at the company's choosing and can sublicense the contribution to other parties. If someone at Diaspora makes a piece of software or code based on a developer-submitted contribution, the derived work is owned entirely by the person who made it. Nowhere with the document does it specify what qualifies as a derived work.
In the agreement, Diaspora also makes it a point to mention that with the exception of the above clauses, all rights and titles are reserved for the contributor. The company also agrees to release any contributions licensed under a suitable Free Software Foundation-approved license.
The full terms can be read here.
Comments
comments powered by DisqusSubscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
So Long Neofetch and Thanks for the Info
Today is a day that every Linux user who enjoys bragging about their system(s) will mourn, as Neofetch has come to an end.
-
Ubuntu 24.04 Comes with a “Flaw"
If you're thinking you might want to upgrade from your current Ubuntu release to the latest, there's something you might want to consider before doing so.
-
Canonical Releases Ubuntu 24.04
After a brief pause because of the XZ vulnerability, Ubuntu 24.04 is now available for install.
-
Linux Servers Targeted by Akira Ransomware
A group of bad actors who have already extorted $42 million have their sights set on the Linux platform.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.
-
Kodi 21.0 Open-Source Entertainment Hub Released
After a year of development, the award-winning Kodi cross-platform, media center software is now available with many new additions and improvements.
-
Linux Usage Increases in Two Key Areas
If market share is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Linux is on the rise in two areas that, if they keep climbing, could have serious meaning for Linux's future.
-
Vulnerability Discovered in xz Libraries
An urgent alert for Fedora 40 has been posted and users should pay attention.
licensing goals
it looks like the diaspora guys used this part of the license to be able to contribute parts of the code to the ruby community.
http://www.joindiaspora.com/licensing.html
anon, rambo tribble and gplfan, you should send in suggestions about the license to the guys. that helps more than complaining.
cheers
hari hari
The diaspora project is for me dead. I hope I never have to hear about them again. The project's founders shown their true colours.
Hmmm ...
GPL the whole thing
One of the operative words in the previous sentence is "owner". Because GPL prevents people from stealing (even with "consent" obtained through deception), *all* software and software-related work should only be released under GPL. Otherwise, there is the opportunity to do what the Diaspora gang is trying to do: potentially steal contributed code.
There is a f****** bastard born every second...