[zeromq-dev] Copyrights in the source files

[Martin Lucina]

Martin,

sustrik at 250bpm.com said:
> Hi all,
> 
> I have some code paid for by a company that I want to add to 0MQ.
> 
> However, at the moment we have no process to attribute copyrights to 
> companies as opposed to individual contributors.
> 
> Let's do it this way: If you submit a patch you (as a person) are going 
> to be listed in AUTHORS file the same way you are today. Aside of that, 
> feel free to add company copyrights to the files you've modified and 
> make it a part of the patch.
> 
> If you believe the historical patches you've made should be attributed 
> to a company, let me know the patch ID and the company name and I'll add 
> the copyrights by hand.

Why the distinction between individual authors and corporate entities? That
seems unfair.

The way I've seen it done in other projects is:

- If you create a new source file, you add the requisite license header and
  copyright (whether your own, or that of a company)
- When you submit a patch to an existing source file, if you (the
  submitter) perceive that you have modified a substantial portion of that
  file, or if you simply care enough about having your copyright listed,
  you add in your copyright statement to the affected file. Again, no
  distinction between individual and company.

This does not in any way change the policy of adding all authors to the
AUTHORS file.

What do you think?

-mato