Subject: Re: git to libgit2 code relicensing

From: Andreas Ericsson <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 23:56:30 +0100

Martin Koegler wrote:
> On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 09:59:56PM +0100, Andreas Ericsson wrote:
>> I've put everyone who "owns" more than 500 lines of code
>> on the bcc list, figuring your permission is important
>> but that you don't want the hundreds (well, one can hope)
>> of emails from people saying "ok". The list of major owners
>> was generated with "git showners *.c" in a worktree from
>> the next branch of git.git.
> 
> I don't think, that your way for relicensing is bullet proof:
> 

I know that it's not, which is why I'm doing research to take care
of the pieces interesting for libgit2 that could possibly have
been derived from elsewhere. Reading and filling structures specific
to git is something I'd be surprised if they originated outside of
git though.

> I consider many of my GIT patches as derived work from other parts of
> GIT, even if git blame is stating me as author. I can gurantee you,
> that I comply with the "Developer's Certificate of Origin 1.1" point
> b, as its based on code out of git.git.

Right, but if we can never re-use code from git.git, libgit will never
fly. It's unfortunately as simple as that. So perhaps we're left with
the option of writing a GPL'd library or just go hang.

> But I can't tell you, from which files I reused code anymore.
> 

To a certain point, "git blame" can.

> Probably other people did the same.
> 
> Your method is ignoring such derived code.
> 

Right. If possible, I'd still like an OK from you though. If nothing
else, it'll make it possible to re-use code that originated from
someone else and that you changed, assuming that "someone else" also
agree to relicensing their code. With 100% of the authors agreeing
to that, we could have a libified git flying in a matter of months
instead of never.

It's unfortunate if the letter of the law pertaining to a particular
license should prevent the copyright owners from doing whatever
they want with the code, but perhaps that's the world we live in.

-- 
Andreas Ericsson                   [email-masked]
OP5 AB                             www.op5.se
Tel: +46 8-230225                  Fax: +46 8-230231