| [eclipse.org-committers] Eclipse Contributor Agreement (ECA) Update |
Greetings Eclipse Committers:
As you are aware the Eclipse Foundation will start hosting specifications as open source projects [1]. This is very exciting for our community, and we think it represents a new opportunity for creating innovative technologies through both specifications and software using a vendor neutral process.
As many of you know, we have been communicating with the Community at Large regarding updating our standard Contributor and Committer Agreements to state explicitly that contributions made to our projects may also be used in specifications.
Thank you to those who have responded quickly to our requests and we apologize for the extra noise; however, we want to ensure our entire community is aware of the next steps in this initiative. Specifically: if you have not yet signed your updated Individual Committer Agreement (ICA), we kindly ask for your support in completing it as quickly as possible.
Next Steps:
Our timeline to invalidate older versions of the Eclipse Contributor Agreement (ECA) prior to version 3.0.0 (revised 2018-10-22) is scheduled for the end of April. Prior to April 30, 2019, we ask that you do one of the following:
Sign the current version of the ECA, or
Sign the current version of the Individual Committer Agreement (which now includes all of the terms in the ECA), or
Ensure that your employer has signed the current version of the Member Committer and Contributor Agreement (which now includes all of the terms in the ECA).
What does this mean to me as a Committer?
This does not impact your committer rights for the projects you work on. Your committer privileges are assigned to specific projects only. If you wish to contribute to projects for which you are not a committer, the ECA is required unless: (a) you have signed the Individual Committer Agreement (revised 2018-10-22) and/or (b) your employer is an Eclipse Member with a Member Committer and Contributor Agreement on file (revised 2018-11-05) as the latest ECA is now encompassed by those agreements.
What do I need to do, and is it complicated or onerous?
To update your ECA, please follow the link below [2]. We have simplified this process for you. Please log in with your Eclipse user account, review the agreement, agree to the Terms and click “Update”.
What if I do nothing?
We will take care of expiring your outdated ECA for you. We will automatically expire all prior versions of the ECA on April 30, 2019. Please note you may review and sign the updated ECA at any time in the future, so missing the deadline does not impede any of your committer rights - it simply means that you will not be able to contribute to other projects until you have made this update.
Should you have any questions, we ask that you first consult our FAQ [3]. Otherwise, feel free to contact us via license@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
On behalf of the millions of software developers who use technologies from the Eclipse community and the staff at the Eclipse Foundation, thank you for helping make Eclipse a great community for open source software development.
[1] https://blogs.eclipse.org/post/mike-milinkovich/new-eclipse-foundation-committer-and-contributor-agreements
[2] https://eclipse.org/legal/ECA.php
[3] https://www.eclipse.org/legal/committer_process/re-sign/
Best Regards,
Sharon Corbett
Eclipse Management Organization