=pod
=encoding utf8
=head1 NAME
Rosetta::Copying -
Matters of ownership, licensing, contributions
=head1 DESCRIPTION
This document is about copyright issues concerning the Rosetta DBMS
framework, both as they are now, and how I anticipate them being in the
future. These may very well be intuitive, but I'll follow the principle of
least surprise and spell them out anyway, so that no one is surprised later
on.
=head1 COMPOSITION
The inner core of the Rosetta framework, defined as the smallest number of
components that all users of Rosetta require, are these Perl files; each
one depends on all of the others listed above it:
* /lib/Rosetta/Model.pm
* /lib/Rosetta.pm
Note that at least one additional file, whether from myself or a third
party, is required to fulfil the role of an "Engine", in order to use
lib/Rosetta.pm at all, meaning the actual minimal count is 3.
(The inner core also has an external dependency on my LGPL-licensed
Locale::KeyedText, that is also required to use it, but that is not
actually part of the Rosetta framework itself.)
Both Model.pm and Rosetta.pm are part of a common 'Rosetta' distribution on
CPAN, but Model.pm can actually be used independently from Rosetta.pm; they
are bundled mainly for easier co-development, and that using them together
is the most common case. Engines are distributed separately, except for a
fully functional "Example". Each distribution may have additional files
that are tied to the named file, because they serve as documentation or
examples or tests or localization data for it, and the whole collection in
the distribution is considered a single unit as far as ownership and
licensing goes, unless explicitly stated otherwise therein.
The Rosetta framework includes a comprehensive shared test suite to ensure
the correctness of itself and of any Engine components, its outer core,
which is comprised of these Perl files:
* /lib/Rosetta/Validator.pm
* /lib/Rosetta/Engine/Example.pm
While not essential to the daily use of Rosetta, they are very important to
the framework at large and are strongly recommended to be used at
installation time. The Validator.pm can be used to test any Engine, and is
included in the Rosetta.pm distribution; it is expected that there never
will be a third party substitution for it. The Example.pm is also included
in the Rosetta.pm distribution and implements a standalone Engine for
testing Validator.pm in the first place, so it has a working example of
expected behaviour; it is anticipated that you will substitute another
Engine (typically third party) for Example by production time. Neither
depends on anything specific but the inner core.
Any other independent distributions that exist and use Rosetta, whether
made by myself or third parties, are not part of the Rosetta framework
core, but constitute extensions.
=head1 OWNERSHIP
Presently, all of the Rosetta framework core files are owned entirely by
myself, and I have complete freedom to use and license them under any terms
of my choosing; there are no co-owners to consult.
Presently, all of the Rosetta framework core files have been created and
maintained entirely by myself, both code and documentation, save for small
amounts of casual assistence by other people. This consists mainly of
providing me advice in discussions that went to improve Rosetta, or in
correcting minor code details or typos (such as to remain consistent with a
Perl 6 language spec change). Exceptions are specifically mentioned.
In accordance with common sense, I maintain that none of the assistence
received to date, save any specifically mentioned, is enough to warrant
partial ownership of affected portions of Rosetta to the other people, and
so they remain entirely mine.
Likewise, I disclaim any possible ownership over portions of other peoples'
projects for whom my contribution was minor and casual, and even with more
major contributions, I disclaim any ownership interest in them, unless
explicitly stated otherwise.
In the future, I am willing that the ownership of some of Rosetta's
extensions that I create can be shared with or transferred to other people
for various reasons, but I am also not willing to share or relinquish full
ownership of some other components at all.
Specifically, I wish to retain full ownership and control of the inner and
outer cores of Rosetta, namely:
* /lib/Rosetta/Model.pm
* /lib/Rosetta.pm
* /lib/Rosetta/Validator.pm
* /lib/Rosetta/Engine/Example.pm
Whereas, I am willing to share or transfer ownership over any or all of the
various Rosetta extensions, if other people contribute a lot to them and/or
are willing and able to become their primary maintainers.
=head1 LICENSING
All components of the Rosetta framework that I own, particularly the core,
are now and forever available under at least one free and open source
license. This grants all users the right to use it for any purpose, to
make modifications, and to redistribute both the pristine and modified
versions. The specific license terms may differ for each component, and
are specified in that component's documentation.
This is a summary of their licensing terms, but what is written in the
components themselves takes precedence.
Each core distribution is licensed under the GPL version 2.0 or later, with
a linking exception granted for other software components whose own
licenses qualify as free software according to
L<http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html>; a system incorporating such
components and any core Rosetta components can be distributed where the
Rosetta components are subject to the GPL and the other such components to
their licenses.
That is, any third party component that links to Rosetta is required to be
distributed under the GPL unless at least one of the following conditions
is met:
1. It is distributed separately from Rosetta, listing Rosetta as an
*external* dependency, and the end user installs the third party component
and Rosetta separately. This is what the plain GPL allows.
2. The third party component can bundle Rosetta with it, but that it's own
license qualifies it as free software. This is what my exception permits
but vanilla GPL does not.
3. I have sold them a proprietary license allowing it.
All components of the Rosetta framework that I own are also available for
sale under a proprietary license, for those people that want to extricate
themselves from the GPL. This is one method of generating income from the
Rosetta framework that I will have exclusive to myself, in addition to the
methods that GPL licensing provides to everyone, such as support contracts
and sponsored improvements. The same dual-license business practice is
also used effectively by MySQL AB and others.
Note that I plan to relicense these same components explicitly under the
GPL version 3 (or later) when that GPL version is finalized, barring any
unexpected difficulties. The first GPL v3 draft, published 2006.01.16 at
L<http://gplv3.fsf.org/>, already looks good. And it natively includes
terms like my linking exception to v2 for other free software.
I have no intention of broadly releasing Rosetta under any open source
license but the GPL, such as the Perl or Artistic or BSD licenses, because
that would open a large hole in the dual-licensing plan. However, workable
and limited scope arrangements can be made on a case by case basis.
All extensions that I create to the Rosetta framework whose sole purpose is
to enable other modules or applications on top of Rosetta, such as Tangram
or DBIx::Class or Bricolage, will be licensed under the same terms as those
components being enabled.
For example, "DBIx::Class::Storage::Rosetta is free software and is
licensed under the same terms as DBIx::Class itself".
A primary advantage of this approach is that the enabled component can
choose to refactor itself by moving code from my glue module to itself,
without impacting its licensing implications. It also makes conceptual
sense, since the glue is more part of the enabled component than Rosetta.
=head1 CONTRIBUTIONS
I welcome and encourage contributions towards improving Rosetta from anyone
and at any time, big or small, and for any part of the system.
Considering Rosetta's heavily componentized design, some improvements are
best included in the core, and others are best done as externally
distributed extensions. As Rosetta matures, changes to extensions should
become the more common way to extend it than modifying the core is, since a
mature core should readily support a wide variety of extensions.
In the case of extensions that you write and distribute separately, you
retain ownership of them as usual.
If your contribution fits best inside one of my modules and is non-trivial,
then you would normally retain ownership of that contribution unless you
grant said ownership to me.
In the case of inner or outer core modules, I will require the transfer of
ownership for your contribution, so I can maintain full ownership of said
core modules. Alternately, I would expect a perpetual grant over the
contribution to use and sublicense it in any way I choose, so that it is as
if I owned it, but you would then also retain ownership to use it yourself.
If you refuse the transfer or grant, then I will not accept the
contribution into the module, or may possibly rewrite it instead to make it
my own work, in which case the contribution would effectively be 'advice'.
As an exception to the above, material changes to a core module that are
distributed independently as a patch will remain yours.
In a worst case scenario, you are always allowed to fork Rosetta, and have
shared ownership in your alternate version, though I would hope that a fork
would never happen.
=head1 CONCLUSION
I created Rosetta in the hope that it would be greatly useful to and be
used by a lot of people, and lead to positive change in society. Releasing
it free should take care that it serves this purpose over the long term.
But I also strive that it can contribute to my ability to earn a living
over the long term. Hopefully the policies I have laid out are fair and
acceptable to everyone.
=head1 SEE ALSO
Go to L<Rosetta> for the majority of distribution-internal references, and
L<Rosetta::SeeAlso> for the majority of distribution-external references.
=head1 AUTHOR
Darren R. Duncan (C<perl@DarrenDuncan.net>)
=head1 LICENCE AND COPYRIGHT
This file is part of the Rosetta DBMS framework.
Rosetta is Copyright (c) 2002-2006, Darren R. Duncan.
See the LICENCE AND COPYRIGHT of L<Rosetta> for details.
=head1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS in L<Rosetta> apply to this file too.
=cut