Re: Copyright assignment

[Stefan Kangas <stefankangas@gmail.com>]

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Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> writes:

>> From: Stefan Kangas <stefankangas@gmail.com>
>> Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2022 00:44:01 -0700
>> Cc: emacs-devel@gnu.org
>>
>> FWIW, coreutils don't have people ask on the mailing list about this,
>> they just have this note in their HACKING file:
>>
>>   The forms to choose from are in gnulib's doc/Copyright/ directory.
>>   If you want to assign a single change, you should use the file,
>>   doc/Copyright/request-assign.changes:
>>
>>       https://www.gnu.org/software/gnulib/Copyright/request-assign.changes
>>
>>   If you would like to assign past and future contributions to a project,
>>   you'd use doc/Copyright/request-assign.future:
>>
>>       https://www.gnu.org/software/gnulib/Copyright/request-assign.future
>>
>> I think doing the same would save us some work and help cut down on the
>> noise on these lists.
>
> I'm not objected to having a copy of the assignment request in our
> repository, but:

I'm coming back to this a year later, but does the below patch look
okay?  Note that the new etc/copyright-assign.txt file is simply an
exact copy of request-assign.future from Gnulib.

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>   . Someone(TM) should take up a job of making sure it is always
>     up-to-date wrt the one the FSF copyright clerk expects;

True.  So I've now added it to the file synchronization script that I
already use for etc/publicsuffix.txt.

I'll add that script to emacs.git when I can find some time, to decrease
the bus factor.

>   . we will still get requests about this, the only difference is that
>     we will be able to point to the repository instead of sending it
>     (I'm not sure which way is better for the person who asks about
>     the form)

I think it's okay to still send the form if someone asks.  Hopefully
we'll get fewer of those, which is one less thing to think of for us.

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From 01f4104f44793297b925086549e94b96a77fa000 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Stefan Kangas <stefankangas@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2023 22:22:08 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] Include copyright assignment form in repository

Glenn Morris <rgm@gnu.org> pointed out, when he updated CONTRIBUTE:

    "The vast majority of the exchanges on this topic are 'please send
    me the form; ok I sent you the form', and there's no need to
    involve a mailing list for that."

* etc/copyright-assign.txt: New file, copied verbatim from
https://www.gnu.org/software/gnulib/Copyright/request-assign.changes
* doc/emacs/trouble.texi (Copyright Assignment):
* etc/TODO: Point users to above new file instead of asking on the
mailing listed.
---
 CONTRIBUTE               | 12 ++++++------
 doc/emacs/trouble.texi   | 16 ++++++++--------
 etc/TODO                 | 16 ++++++++++------
 etc/copyright-assign.txt | 36 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 4 files changed, 60 insertions(+), 20 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 etc/copyright-assign.txt

diff --git a/CONTRIBUTE b/CONTRIBUTE
index 68c41638942..4cfe9fb27fb 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTE
+++ b/CONTRIBUTE
@@ -75,12 +75,12 @@ the copyright for your contributions.  (To see how many lines were
 non-trivially changed, count only added and modified lines in the
 patched code.  Consider an added or changed line non-trivial if it
 includes at least one identifier, string, or substantial comment.)
-In most cases, to start the assignment process you should download
-https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/gnulib.git/plain/doc/Copyright/request-assign.future
-and return the completed information to the address at the top.
-(There are other assignment options, but they are much less commonly used.)
-If you have questions about the assignment process, you can ask the
-address listed on the form, and/or emacs-devel@gnu.org.
+In most cases, to start the assignment process, see the form in the
+file etc/copyright-assign.txt, and return the completed information to
+the address at the top.  (There are other assignment options, but they
+are much less commonly used.)  If you have questions about the
+assignment process, you can ask the address listed on the form, and/or
+emacs-devel@gnu.org.
 
 ** Issue tracker (a.k.a. "bug tracker")
 
diff --git a/doc/emacs/trouble.texi b/doc/emacs/trouble.texi
index 3a43203619b..f09f77b8bca 100644
--- a/doc/emacs/trouble.texi
+++ b/doc/emacs/trouble.texi
@@ -1540,14 +1540,14 @@ Copyright Assignment
 @url{https://www.gnu.org/licenses/why-assign.html}.
 
 Copyright assignment is a simple process.  Residents of many countries
-can do it entirely electronically.  We can help you get started,
-including sending you the forms you should fill, and answer any
-questions you may have (or point you to the people with the answers),
-at the @email{emacs-devel@@gnu.org} mailing list.
-
-(Please note: general discussion about why some GNU projects ask
-for a copyright assignment is off-topic for emacs-devel.
-See gnu-misc-discuss instead.)
+can do it entirely electronically.  To get started, follow the
+instructions in the file @file{etc/copyright-assign.txt} in the Emacs
+distribution.  We can and answer any questions you may have (or point
+you to the people with the answers), at the
+@email{emacs-devel@@gnu.org} mailing list.@footnote{Please note:
+general discussion about why some GNU projects ask for a copyright
+assignment is off-topic for @samp{emacs-devel}.  See
+@samp{gnu-misc-discuss} instead.}
 
 A copyright disclaimer is also a possibility, but we prefer an assignment.
 Note that the disclaimer, like an assignment, involves you sending
diff --git a/etc/TODO b/etc/TODO
index d2d124c9c8e..f08279f1495 100644
--- a/etc/TODO
+++ b/etc/TODO
@@ -11,12 +11,16 @@ it best.  Also to check that it hasn't been done already, since we
 don't always remember to update this file!  It is best to consult
 the latest version of this file in the Emacs source code repository.
 
-Since Emacs is an FSF-copyrighted package, please be prepared to sign
-legal papers to transfer the copyright on your work to the FSF.
-Copyright assignment is a simple process.  Residents of some countries
-can do it entirely electronically.  We can help you get started, and
-answer any questions you may have (or point you to the people with the
-answers), at the emacs-devel@gnu.org mailing list.
+Generally speaking, for non-trivial contributions to GNU Emacs and
+packages stored in GNU ELPA, we require that the copyright be assigned
+to the Free Software Foundation.  For the reasons behind this, see:
+https://www.gnu.org/licenses/why-assign.html
+
+Copyright assignment is a simple process.  Residents of many countries
+can do it entirely electronically.  To get started, follow the
+instructions in the file etc/copyright-assign.txt in the Emacs
+distribution.  We can answer any questions you may have (or point you to
+the people with the answers), at the emacs-devel@gnu.org mailing list.
 
 For more information about getting involved, see the CONTRIBUTE file.
 
diff --git a/etc/copyright-assign.txt b/etc/copyright-assign.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e1184a64d57
--- /dev/null
+++ b/etc/copyright-assign.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+Please email the following information to assign@gnu.org, and we
+will send you the assignment form for your past and future changes.
+
+Please use your full legal name (in ASCII characters) as the subject
+line of the message.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
+REQUEST: SEND FORM FOR PAST AND FUTURE CHANGES
+
+[What is the name of the program or package you're contributing to?]
+
+
+[Did you copy any files or text written by someone else in these changes?
+Even if that material is free software, we need to know about it.]
+
+
+[Do you have an employer who might have a basis to claim to own
+your changes?  Do you attend a school which might make such a claim?]
+
+
+[For the copyright registration, what country are you a citizen of?]
+
+
+[What year were you born?]
+
+
+[Please write your email address here.]
+
+
+[Please write your postal address here.]
+
+
+
+
+
+[Which files have you changed so far, and which new files have you written
+so far?]
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