Development of Creative Commons licenses

[Rob Myers <robmyers AT mac.com>]

Recall that the Free Software Foundation keep signed documentation on 
contributions to their projects, which use the GPL.

As a result of the current SCO debacle ("we own your code, prove that we 
don't!"), the Linux leadership is looking at adding a representation of 
authority to contribute to their submission procedure:

http://lwn.net/Articles/86436/
Via groklaw, http://www.groklaw.com/

Note that this is still external to the license (like the FSF keeping their 
sign-offs separate from the GPL).Does having this separately make it 
*better*, or is it just a historical wart and it should be part of a license 
like CC1 and the OGL? 

Also note the idea of a "web of trust" taken from public key cryptorgaphic 
systems. This make explicit what is implicit in the OGL (that you trust the 
person you're getting the previously licensed and Represented work from).

"So what I'm suggesting is that we start 'signing off' on patches, to show 
the path it has come through, and to document that chain of trust. It also 
allows middle parties to edit the patch without somehow 'losing' their names 
- quite often the patch that reaches the final kernel is not exactly the same 
as the original one, as it has gone through a few layers of people." - Linus 
Torvalds

"Developer's Certificate of Origin 1.0

By making a contribution to this project, I certify that:

(a) The contribution was created in whole or in part by me and I have the 
right to submit it under the open source license indicated in the file; or

(b) The contribution is based upon previous work that, to the best of my 
knowledge, is covered under an appropriate open source license and I have the 
right under that license to submit that work with modifications, whether 
created in whole or in part by me, under the same open source license (unless 
I am permitted to submit under a different license), as indicated in the 
file; or

(c) The contribution was provided directly to me by some other person who 
certified (a), (b) or (c) and I have not modified it. "

- Rob.