Hello,
I assume you want to use individual assignments, is that correct?
I have attached the employer disclaimer. In addition, I have attached a
questionnaire. This questionnaire includes instructions for its
completion. Upon receipt of the questionnaire, the FSF will review the
answers, and if everything is proper we will mail an assignment to the
person.
All the best,
Ted Teah
Please email the following information to [EMAIL PROTECTED], and we
will send you the assignment form for your past and future changes.
Please use your full name as the subject line of the message.
[What is the name of the program or package you're contributing to?]
[Did you copy any files or text written by someone else in these changes?
Even if that material is free software, we need to know about it.]
[Do you have an employer who might have a basis to claim to own
your changes? Do you attend a school which might make such a claim?]
[For the copyright registration, what country are you a citizen of?]
[What year were you born?]
[Please write your email address here.]
[Please write your snail address here.]
[Which files have you changed so far, and which new files have you written
so far?]
ïIf you are employed to do programming (even at a university), or have
made an agreement with your employer or school saying it owns programs
you write, then you and we need a signed piece of paper from your
employer disclaiming rights to the program.
Here is a disclaimer your employer can sign to cover your future
changes to GNU software, as well as your past changes.
The disclaimer should be signed by a vice president or general manager
of the company. If you can't get at them, anyone else authorized to
issue licenses for software produced there will do.
Much of this disclaimer consists of a description of which kinds of
work it applies to. This description is just a suggestion--your
employer can replace it with any description that says clearly which
kinds of work they want to disclaim and which kinds they don't.
Paragraph (b) is optional; they can delete it if they wish.
If your employer says they do have an intellectual property claim that
could conflict with the use of the program, then please put us in
touch with a suitable representative of the company, so that we can
negotiate what to do about it. Send a note about the issue to the
company representative and to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
IMPORTANT: When you talk to your employer, *no matter what
instructions they have given you*, don't fail to show them the sample
disclaimer below, or a disclaimer with the details filled in for your
specific case. Companies are usually willing to sign a disclaimer
without any fuss. If you make your request less specific, you may
cloud the issue and cause a long and unnecessary delay.
Please keep a copy of the employer's signed disclaimer, and snail the
original to us at
Attn: Disclaimer Clerk
Free Software Foundation
59 Temple Place, Suite 330
Boston, MA 02111-1307
USA
EMPLOYER DISCLAIMER OF RIGHTS
We agree that software and other authored works of the 'Released
Category' (defined below), made by our employee/consultant,
_______________________, prior to the date of this document, and for
_____ years thereafter, are freely assignable by said
employee/consultant to Free Software Foundation (FSF) for distribution
and sharing under its free software policies. We disclaim any status
as the author or owner of such works.
The Released Category comprises
(a) changes and enhancements to software already (as of the time such
change or enhancement is made) freely circulating under stated terms
permitting public redistribution, whether in the public domain, or
under the FSF's GNU General Public License, or under the FSF's GNU
Lesser General Public License (a.k.a. the GNU Library General Public
License), or under other such terms; and
(b) operating system components for operating systems providing
substantially the same functionality as portions of UNIX, BSD,
Microsoft Windows, or other popular operating systems.
The Released Category excludes ______________________ [if 'none',
please so state; thank you--FSF].
We affirm that we will do nothing in the future to undermine this
release. If we have or acquire hereafter any patent or interface
copyright or other intellectual property interest dominating the
works, or the programs to which these works constitute changes and
enhancements, or use of those programs, then the Free Software
Foundation and the general public will be permanently and irrevocably
licensed to use, in these works and in the programs they enhance,
without royalty or limitation, the subject matter of the dominating
interest.
We make no warranty as to the quality of the material or as to
the presence or absence of rights therein of any other party, and we
do not purport to disclaim, release or grant any rights other than our
own.
Given as a sealed instrument this ___ day of ______, 20__.
signed:___________________________,
___________________________ (please print your name)
___________________________ (title)
___________________________ (company name),
