Mambo requires that all contributors complete the Mambo Contributor Agreement (MCA) and send back the signed document by mail, or through email as a scanned attachment.
The Mambo project has had an MCA for many years and the purpose of it is to protect the integrity of Mambo and to permit the Mambo Foundation, Inc to act on the community's behalf in the event of any legal challenge. The Mambo Foundation, which is a not-for-profit foundation set up to serve and protect the project, is the sole copyright holder of Mambo.
Why Mambo has a Contributor Agreement
Having only one copyright owner of all the code and documentation in the Mambo project means that the code is protected by the rules under which the Mambo Foundation was formed - namely, that Mambo will always remain free and open source.
It also enables the Mambo project to be responsive in meeting challenges to free and open source software (FOSS or FLOSS) and, if necessary or desirable, to relicense Mambo. Decisions about relicensing have already been made in the past, such as when Mambo decided not to change from GNU/GPL Version 2 to GPL3. If Mambo had not had copyright ownership in all the code every single contributor throughout Mambo's 8 year history would have had to be contacted and unanimity reached in order for the "or later versions" option for relicensing to GPL3 to be removed from Mambo. This would have put Mambo into an untenable situation where GPL2 and GPL3 licenses conflict.
Having copyright ownership also allows Mambo to determine its position in relation to derivative works. Mambo did not, for example, need to seek unanimous agreement from all current and past contributors when it set out its Licensing Position Statement which clarified the informal policy that had been in place since Mambo became open source under the GPL in 2001.
What the Contributor Agreement Means to You
By signing the MCA, you effectively share your copyright with Mambo. The Mambo Foundation owns the copyright of all the code in Mambo and you retain your copyright to your own code and can use your own code in any way you wish.
If you have questions about the agreement you should seek legal counsel.
Download the MCA
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