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As an organization supporting Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) a community organization supporting open source software development, we use a set of licenses, agreements, and policies to manage our software projects and the intellectual property surrounding them. These help us to provide proper governance and sustainability to these projects.

We strongly support the use of mainstream software licenses that have been approved by both the Free Software Foundation and the Open Source Initiative. We also feel that License Proliferation is a problem and that all FOSS projects should endeavor to use the widely-adopted, well-understood license that best meets their needs.

We support the idea of "copyleft" and believe that free software should stay free. However, many of the communities and projects that we regularly collaborate with are currently avoiding copyleft projection for their projects. In the interest of continued mutually-beneficial relationships with these projects, we are not currently using copyleft licenses. We do hope over time that more of the FOSS community will adopt licenses that better protect software freedom.

Licensing

Jasig closely follows the licensing practices of the Apache Software Foundation. We also follow the ASF in many of its intellectual property management policies and in its community project structures.

Specifically, the default software license for all Jasig projects is the Apache License, Version 2.0. All packages released by Jasig are implicitly licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0, unless otherwise explicitly stated. More specific information about the Apache License is available in the Apache License and Distribution FAQ.

Contributor Agreements

Jasig requires that all project contributors complete a Contributor License Agreement (CLA). This agreement clearly defines the terms under which intellectual property is being contributed and gives Jasig broader capabilities to provide proper governance over the project. This makes it possible for Jasig to properly defend the project, its contributors, and its adopters in the case of a legal dispute of some kind. It also allows Jasig to update the licensing of its projects over time as circumstances may dictate.

Individuals must have an Individual Contributor License Agreement (ICLA) on file with Jasig before commit privileges will be granted on Jasig projects.

Organizations that have tasked employees to work on a Jasig project should also complete a Corporate Contributor License Agreement (CCLA) so intellectual property that may have

Licensing

Jasig has adopted the licensing practices of the Apache Software Foundation. We also follow the ASF in many of its intellectual property management policies and in its community project structures.

Specifically, the default software license for all Jasig projects is the Apache License, Version 2.0. All packages released by Jasig are implicitly licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0, unless otherwise explicitly stated. More specific information about the Apache License is available in the Apache License and Distribution FAQ.

Contributor Agreements

Jasig requires that all project contributors complete a Contributor License Agreement (CLA). This agreement clearly defines the terms under which intellectual property is being contributed and gives Jasig broader capabilities to provide proper governance over the project. This makes it possible for Jasig to properly defend the project, its contributors, and its adopters in the case of a legal dispute of some kind. It also allows Jasig to update the licensing of its projects over time as circumstances may dictate.

In all cases, contributors retain full rights to use their original contributions for any other purpose, while providing Jasig and its projects the right to distribute and extend their contributed work.

Individuals must have an Individual Contributor License Agreement (ICLA) on file with Jasig before any significant contributions will be accepted and before commit privileges will be granted on Jasig projects.

Organizations that have tasked employees to work on a Jasig project should also complete a Corporate Contributor License Agreement (CCLA) so intellectual property that may have been assigned as part of an employment agreement can still be properly contributed. Individuals still need to submit an ICLA, even when their organizations has completed a CCLA. Individuals are responsible for making sure their organization has completed a CCLA if their contributions are owned by their employer.

When an individual or corporation donates existing software or documentation to a Jasig project, they need to execute a formal Software Grant License Agreement (SGLA) with Jasig. This typically occurs as part of the Jasig Incubation process for taking on new projects.

Contributor Agreements may be submitted to Jasig in the following way:

• Email
  • Scanned signed copy in PDF form emailed to:
  • licensing@jasig.org
• Fax
  • Attention: Jasig Licensing
  • +1-xxx-xxx-xxxx
• SnailMail
  • Attention: Jasig Licensing
  • xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Historical Note: Some Jasig projects were previously managed under the New BSD License. Contributions to these projects were then accepted under the terms of that license. For historical purposes, the New BSD License is broadly interpreted as the Contributor License Agreement for those contributions, and those projects still honor all the terms of that License. New contributions to any Jasig project are now only accepted with an ICLA, CCLA, or SGLA in place firstdocumentation to a Jasig project, they need to execute a formal Software Grant License Agreement (SGLA) with Jasig. This typically occurs as part of the Jasig Incubation process for taking on new projects.

Contributor License Agreements may be submitted to Jasig in the following way:

• Snailmail
  • Jasig Licensing
  • P.O. Box 351989
  • Westminster, CO 80035-1989
  • USA
• Fax
  • Attention: Jasig Licensing
  • +1-303-495-3812
• Email
  • Scanned signed copy in PDF form emailed to:
  • licensing@jasig.org

Historical Note: Some Jasig projects were previously managed under the New BSD License. Contributions to these projects were then accepted under the terms of that license. For historical purposes, the New BSD License is broadly interpreted as the Contributor License Agreement for those contributions, and those projects still honor all the terms of that License. New contributions to any Jasig project are now only accepted with an ICLA, CCLA, or SGLA in place first.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why has Jasig adopted the Apache License?

First, we strongly support the use of mainstream software licenses that have been approved by both the Free Software Foundation and the Open Source Initiative. We also feel that License Proliferation is a problem and that all Free / Open Source Software (FOSS) projects should endeavor to use the widely-adopted, well-understood license that best meets their needs.

Since Jasig projects are frequently combined with other open source projects, we wanted to select a license that is widely compatible with those projects and that is generally as permissive as possible. At the same time we wanted to move to a comprehensive license that provides appropriate protections for both contributors and adopters of open source. After reviewing all the mainstream open source licenses, it was clear that the Apache License best fits our needs.

Why not adopt a copyleft license like the GNU General Public License (GPL)?

We support the ideas behind "copyleft" and believe that free software should stay free. However, many of the communities and projects that we regularly collaborate with currently avoid copyleft protection for their projects because they perceive it as a barrier to widespread adoption. Specifically, the "viral" nature of copyleft licenses like the GNU General Public License is viewed negatively by many. In the interests of continued symbiotic relationships with these projects and to promote adoption of Jasig projects as widely as possible, we are not using copyleft licenses.

We do strongly encourage anyone who improves upon a Jasig project to contribute those changes back to the community. This is mutually beneficial since the community gets a better project and the contributor does not have to maintain a diverging codebase.

Ultimately, open source projects must succeed on their own merits – the choice of copyleft protection will not be a major factor in the fate of any project.

Why not adopt the Educational Community License (ECL)?

The Educational Community License v2 (ECL) is essentially identical to the Apache License v2. The only difference is a minor change in section 3 that narrows the conditions of any implicit patent grant. This change was requested by some institutions participating in some key projects specific to higher education. To our knowledge, it is only in use by the Sakai project and the Kuali projects.

Jasig projects have tended to be more infrastructure focused and are not exclusive to the domain of higher education. We did not want to adopt the ECL because its relative obscurity outside higher education would be a barrier to widespread adoption of Jasig projects. We also note that several other infrastructure projects in higher education, such as Fluid and Shibboleth, have also avoided the ECL and have adopted the Apache License.

Why not continue to use the New BSD License as previously used by Jasig projects?

The New BSD License is a very simple and straightforward open source license. Its simplicity is both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. This license simply does not provide enough protection for either contributors or adopters to really understand the terms under which the software is being shared. We wanted to move to a more comprehensive license that fully defined the nature of the agreement and provided clearer protection to all the parties involved.

Why is Jasig requiring Contributor License Agreements (CLAs)?

There are two main reasons that Jasig requires Contributor License Agreements before accepting contributions to its projects.

The first reason for requiring CLAs is to provide proper legal protection to the contributors and the adopters of the projects. CLAs protect contributors by explicitly making it clear what the conditions are for properly contributing to a project, thereby avoiding any confusion or misunderstandings between the contributor, the project, and the community. CLAs protect adopters of the project by ensuring that the contributions that make up the project are legitimately and appropriate licensed all the way from the contributor to the adopter. Furthermore, CLAs give Jasig better legal standing to defend against violations of the project license, providing protection for both contributors and adopters.

The second reason for requiring CLAs is to allow Jasig to better ensure the sustainability of the project. In the future, there may be unforeseen needs to adjust the licensing of Jasig projects. Without appropriate CLAs in place for all contributions, Jasig would have to seek individual permission from all past contributors in order to make changes to the licensing of the overall project – this could prove impossible in a long-running project with hundreds of contributors. The Mozilla Relicensing effort serves as a cautionary tale as to what can happen to projects that do not have central governance with the ability to adjust project licensing.

Who should I contact with questions about Jasig licensing or intellectual property?

Simply send an email to licensing@jasig.org and someone from Jasig will respond to your question as soon as possible.

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