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Insuring Contributed Code is Legal?

Posted by Cliff on from the not-swallowing-the-poisoned-pill dept.

WanderingGhost asks: "Suppose you start a free software project and have people from all over the world wanting to contribute (hey, that's good eh?) How can you tell if they actually have the right to contribute at all? Contributors may live in different countries and work for different companies, and that means different laws and different contractual agreements. Aside from asking the person (I've found that this doesn't always work), what else would you do? Is there some place where you can find all information about IP laws of different countries (for example Japan, India, China, Russia) just so you can tell what would be the 'default holder of copyright' if a work contract says nothing about IP rights?"

5 of 71 comments (clear)

  1. But how do I Ensure that my Insured Code is Legal? by NeMon'ess · · Score: 3, Funny

    Anyone?

  2. I assume it's legal... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I mean, you can get insurance for just about anything. I assume that goes for contributed code...

  3. misspelling may provide the answer! by plasmacutter · · Score: 5, Funny

    insuring your project against copyright lawsuit might "ensure" you get to keep contributed code..

    well.. it was just a thought..

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  4. Re:But how do I Ensure that my Insured Code is Leg by nacturation · · Score: 4, Funny

    Insure legal code
    Lawyers battle like thunder
    Assured rest ensured

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  5. Re:Not quite... by arose · · Score: 2, Funny

    Don't you mean iditors?

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