[FFmpeg-devel] [PATCH] doc/developer: require transparency about sponshorships.

[Gyan]

On 12-01-2019 12:51 AM, Hendrik Leppkes wrote:
>
> To take a line from your post:
> Are you against privacy?
>
> Patches should generally be considered on their own merit. Any such
> information will only bias any discussions and result in more
> conflict.


One angle that I haven't seen brought up is legal encumbrance.

When someone submits a patch, it is implicit, unless stated otherwise, 
that it is of their own initiative (and their own work), and thus they 
are free to assign copyright. When work is performed for hire, the 
copyright may belong to the employer. Such sponsored work cannot be 
'donated' to the project unless the employer agrees to it - it is not 
for the patch submitter to decide. In such a scenario, the project 
should know who holds the copyright and under what terms are they 
willing to submit a patch.

Gyan