Re: [RFC] Move ox-koma-letter into core?

[Alan L Tyree <alantyree@gmail.com>]

On 21/02/14 00:29, Rasmus wrote:
> Viktor Rosenfeld <listuser36@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> Hi Tom,
>>
>> Am 17.02.14 22:56, schrieb Thomas S. Dye:
>>
>>> FWIW, as a small businessman, the indemnification clause looks fairly
>>> standard to me.  The contracts for archaeological services that we
>>> routinely sign typically have a clause like this, usually coupled with a
>>> request for a certificate of insurance that specifies the levels of
>>> liability insurance that the business carries.
>>>
>>> As I read the clause, FSF is in the position of accepting 1) a code
>>> contribution from a developer, and 2) the developer's assurance that the
>>> contributed code can't be claimed as property by a third party.  It
>>> seems prudent that, in the event of a successful property claim by a
>>> third party to a piece of code contributed by a developer, the developer
>>> who gave the false assurance should be held responsible. Otherwise, FSF
>>> might be brought down by copyleft opponents who knowingly contribute
>>> code to which others have property rights in order to create a basis for
>>> lawsuits.
>> Thanks for your reply. I was hoping to get some feedback on how other
>> Orgmode contributors see this issue (although this list is obviously
>> self-selective). The problem I have is that I'm not a lawyer or a
>> businessman and not a native English speaker. I do know enough though
>> not to lightly sign documents I don't fully understand.
> Perhaps FSFE would be able to shed some light on the issue (EU-based).
> Or Software Freedom Conservancy (US-based).  I don't have further
> insights.
>
> —Rasmus
>
FWIW, most book publishing contracts that I have seen have something 
similar. An example:

"The Authors warrant to the Publishers that the Work will in no way
whatever violate any existing Copyright (except as notified under Clause
7(b)), and that it will contain nothing of a libellous or scandalous
character. The Authors shall indemnify the Publishers against any claims,
actions, loss or damage including costs and expenses incurred by the
Publishers as a result of any breach of the present warranty."

I imagine that quite a few members of this list have signed something 
similar.

Cheers,
Alan


-- 
Alan L Tyree                    http://www2.austlii.edu.au/~alan
Tel:  04 2748 6206              sip:typhoon@iptel.org