Contributor License Agreement ("CLA")
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Please note that the following intro section is here to try and explain the CLA in a non-lawyer-speak manner, but it's not legal advice. The actual agreement starts with the "GameTora Individual Contributor License Agreement ("Agreement")" section.
What is this agreement about?
This agreement covers what happens with the license of any submissions you make for the GameTora project. This will most often be pull requests on GitHub, but it can refer to other ways where it's obvious that you're willing to have your work included (work that is intentionally submitted by You to GameTora for inclusion in, or documentation of, the Project).
In short, what happens is that you keep the copyright of your submission (You reserve all right, title, and interest in and to Your Contributions), but also give a non-exclusive copyright license to GameTora (grant a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license).
In other words, according to this agreement, both you and GameTora can continue using whatever you've submitted. For example, if it was code on GitHub, both you and GameTora can alter the code, use it in other files, etc.
Why is this necessary?
GameTora is currently not open source. However, I would still like for other people to be able to contribute to the project. And preferably without the risk of one side suing the other for some code ownership issues ten years down the line. CLAs make it very clear that both sides can use that piece of code.
What if I don't own a part of the submission?
Sometimes, that can happen (e.g., using a piece of code from an open source project or including an illustrative image that you don't own). Like with any other license, use common sense (combined with section 5). As long as the part is clearly marked (in the code, commit message, etc.), there is no problem (Your Contribution submissions include complete details of any third-party license or other restriction).
Section 7 only refers to works submitted on behalf of others, i.e., the entire thing that you're submitting belongs to someone else. For example, if someone has written a part of some documentation, but the person doesn't have a GitHub account, so you're submitting it instead.
GameTora Individual Contributor License Agreement ("Agreement")
Version 1.0
You accept and agree to the following terms and conditions for Your present and future Contributions submitted to GameTora. Except for the license granted herein to GameTora, You reserve all right, title, and interest in and to Your Contributions.
Definitions.
"You" (or "Your") shall mean the copyright owner or legal entity authorized by the copyright owner that is making this Agreement with GameTora. For legal entities, the entity making a Contribution and all other entities that control, are controlled by, or are under common control with that entity are considered to be a single Contributor. For the purposes of this definition, "control" means (i) the power, direct or indirect, to cause the direction or management of such entity, whether by contract or otherwise, or (ii) ownership of fifty percent (50%) or more of the outstanding shares, or (iii) beneficial ownership of such entity.
"GameTora" shall mean the owner or owners of the GameTora project (gametora.com), any of their assigns, and any of their successors (should the owner be a corporation).
"Project" shall mean any of the products or assets owned or managed by GameTora.
"Contribution" shall mean any original work of authorship, including any modifications or additions to an existing work, that is intentionally submitted by You to GameTora for inclusion in, or documentation of, the Project. For the purposes of this definition, "submitted" means any form of electronic, verbal, or written communication sent to GameTora or its representatives, including but not limited to communication on electronic mailing lists, social networking services, source code control systems, and issue tracking systems that are managed by, or on behalf of, GameTora for the purpose of discussing and improving the Project, but excluding communication that is conspicuously marked or otherwise designated in writing by You as "Not a Contribution."
"CLA" shall mean Contributor License Agreement.
Grant of Copyright License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, You hereby grant to GameTora a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute Your Contributions and such derivative works.
Grant of Patent License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, You hereby grant to GameTora a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable (except as stated in this section) patent license to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell, import, and otherwise transfer the Project, where such license applies only to those patent claims licensable by You that are necessarily infringed by Your Contribution(s) alone or by combination of Your Contribution(s) with the Project to which such Contribution(s) was submitted. If any entity institutes patent litigation against You or any other entity (including a cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that your Contribution, or the Project to which you have contributed, constitutes direct or contributory patent infringement, then any patent licenses granted to that entity under this Agreement for that Contribution or Project shall terminate as of the date such litigation is filed.
You represent that you are legally entitled to grant the above license. If your employer(s) has rights to intellectual property that you create that includes your Contributions, you represent that you have received permission to make Contributions on behalf of that employer, that your employer has waived such rights for your Contributions to GameTora, or that your employer has executed a separate Corporate CLA with GameTora.
You represent that each of Your Contributions is Your original creation (see section 7 for submissions on behalf of others). You represent that Your Contribution submissions include complete details of any third-party license or other restriction (including, but not limited to, related patents and trademarks) of which you are personally aware and which are associated with any part of Your Contributions.
You are not expected to provide support for Your Contributions, except to the extent You desire to provide support. You may provide support for free, for a fee, or not at all. Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, You provide Your Contributions on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties or conditions of TITLE, NON- INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Should You wish to submit work that is not Your original creation, You may submit it to GameTora separately from any Contribution, conspicuously marking the work as a third party creation, and identifying the complete details of its source and of any license or other restriction (including, but not limited to, related patents, trademarks, and license agreements) of which you are personally aware.
You agree to notify GameTora of any facts or circumstances of which you become aware that would make these representations inaccurate in any respect.