contribution_policy.html

---
layout: default
title: "DITA Open Toolkit Contribution Policy"
---
<p>The purpose of the DITA Open Toolkit Contribution Policy is to set forth the general principles under which the DITA Open Toolkit project shall accept contributions, license
  contributions, license materials owned by this project, and manage other intellectual property matters.</p>
<section>
  <h2>Overview</h2>
  <p>The <a href="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/cpl1.0.php" target="_blank">Common Public License</a> (CPL) and <a href="http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0"
    target="_blank">Apache License 2.0</a>, which are incorporated herein by reference, will serve as the primary licenses under which the Committer will accept contributions of
    software, documentation, information (including, but not limited to, ideas, concepts, know-how and techniques) and/or other materials (collectively "Content") to the project from
    Contributors. A copy of the CPL and Apache License 2.0 can be found at the root directory of the DITA Open Toolkit deliverable package.</p>
  <p>This Contribution Policy should at all times be interpreted in a manner that is consistent with the Purposes of the this project as set forth in the <a
    href="management.html#development_process">DITA Open Toolkit Development Process</a> goals and objectives. This Contribution Policy shall serve as the basis for how non-Committers interact with this project through
    participation in this project, web-sites owned, controlled, published and/or managed under the auspices of the this project, or otherwise.</p>
  <p>The Common Public License and Apache License 2.0 shall serve as the primary licenses under which the Committer(s) shall accept software, documentation, information (including,
    but not limited to, ideas, concepts, know-how and techniques) and/or other materials (collectively "Content") from contributors including, but not limited to, Contributors and
    Committers.</p>
  <p>The DITA Open Toolkit project provides a process for accepting bug fixes and contributions from parties who have not accepted the license to be Contributors. See <a
    href="participate.html#bugfixguidelines">Due
    Diligence for Submission of Bug Fixes and Patches from Non-Committers</a></p>
</section>
<section>
  <h2>DUE DILIGENCE AND RECORD KEEPING</h2>
  <p>The Committer(s), shall be responsible for scrutinizing all Content contributed to the DITA Open Toolkit project and help ensure that the Contribution Policy licensing
    requirements set forth above are met. Except as set forth below, the applicable Committer shall conduct the following activities prior to uploading any Content into the
    repository or otherwise making the Content available for distribution: </p>
  <ol>
    <li>Contact the potential contributor of the Content through an appropriate channel of communication and collect/confirm the following: <ul>
      <li>Contributor's name, current address, phone number and e-mail address;</li>
      <li>Name and contact information of the contributor's current employer, if any;</li>
      <li>If the contributor is not self-employed, the Committer must request and receive a signed <a href="contribution_policy.html">consent form</a> (to be
        provided by the Committer) from the contributor's employer confirming that the employer does not object to the employee contributing the Content. </li>
      <li>Determine if the Content can be contributed under the terms of the CPL and Apache License 2.0 or the alternative terms and conditions supplied by the Contributor. This
        can be done by asking the contributor questions such as; <ol type="a">
          <li>Did you develop all of the Content from scratch;</li>
          <li>If not, what materials did you use to develop the Content?</li>
          <li>Did you reference any confidential information of any third party? </li>
          <li>If you referenced third party materials, under what terms did you receive such materials? </li>
        </ol>
      </li>
      <li>If it is determined by the Committer that the Content is not the original work of the Contributor, collect the contact information of the copyright holder of the original
        or underlying work. The copyright holder of the Content or the underlying work may then need to be contacted to collect additional information.</li>
    </ul>
    </li>
    <li>The Contributor(s) shall document all information requested in (1) above and fill in Contribution Questionnaire (to be provided by the Committer) and provide the completed
      Contribution Questionnaire to the Committer.</li>
    <li>The Committer shall also be responsible for running a scan tool to help ensure that the Content does not include any code not identified by the contributor.</li>
    <li> Based on the information collected, the Committer shall use his/her reasonable judgment to determine if the Content can be contributed under terms and conditions that are
      consistent with the licensing requirements of this IP Policy. </li>
  </ol>
  <p>If the applicable Committer has any doubts about the ability to distribute the Content under terms and conditions that are consistent with the CPL and Apache License 2.0 or the
    proposed alternative terms and conditions, the Committer may not upload the code to the repository or otherwise distribute the Content. The Committer(s) shall be responsible for
    filing/maintaining the information collected for future reference as needed.</p>
  <p>The above record keeping requirements shall not apply to</p>
  <ul>
    <li>Minor modifications to Content previously contributed to and accepted by the Committer(s).</li>
    <li>Articles and White Papers</li>
    <li>Information or minor Content modifications provided through bug reports, mailing lists and news groups </li>
  </ul>
  <p>While the record keeping requirements do not apply to the items listed above, Committers must conduct reasonable due diligence to satisfy themselves that proposed Contributions
    can be licensed under the terms of the CPL and Apache License 2.0.</p>
</section>