Contributor License Agreement (CLA)

1. Purpose

This agreement ensures that FactHarbor has the legal standing to defend the project, maintain its open nature, and properly attribute contributions while respecting different contributor types.

2. Contributor Types

FactHarbor recognizes two types of contributors with different copyright arrangements:

2.1 Unpaid Volunteers (Community Contributors)

Copyright Retention: You retain full copyright ownership of your contributions.
License Grant: You grant FactHarbor (the Organisation) a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to:

• Use, reproduce, modify, and distribute your contributions
• Sublicense your contributions under the project's open source licenses
• Enforce intellectual property rights on behalf of the project
  Attribution: Your contributions will be attributed to you in project documentation and version control systems.

2.2 Paid Contributors (Employees, Contractors, Sponsored Work)

Copyright Assignment: Copyright ownership transfers to FactHarbor Organisation upon contribution.
Rationale: This ensures clear ownership for commercially sponsored work and simplifies long-term project governance.
Compensation: Paid contributors receive agreed compensation for their work.
Attribution: Contributions are still attributed to the individual contributor in version control and documentation.

3. Common Terms (All Contributors)

3.1 Grant of License

All contributions are made available under the project's designated open source licenses (see Open Source Model and Licensing).

3.2 Right to Enforce

You grant FactHarbor the specific right to enforce intellectual property rights related to your contributions, including the right to take legal action against license violations.

3.3 Originality

You represent that your contribution is your original work, or that you have the legal right to submit it under these terms.

3.4 Support Well-grounded, Independent Judgments

Your contributions should support the project's goal of providing transparent, evidence-based analysis rather than promoting predetermined conclusions.

4. Determining Contributor Type

Default: Contributors are considered unpaid volunteers unless they have a written agreement specifying paid status.
Paid Status Indicators:

• Employment contract with FactHarbor Organisation or a sponsoring entity
• Written contracting agreement specifying payment for contributions
• Grant or sponsorship agreement designating work as paid
  Transparency: Contributor type and any material sponsorship relationships should be disclosed in contribution metadata where applicable.

5. Relation to Open Source Licenses

This CLA works in conjunction with the project's open source licenses:

• For Users: The open source license (e.g., MIT, Apache 2.0) governs how you can use FactHarbor
• For Contributors: This CLA governs the legal relationship between contributors and the FactHarbor Organisation
• Compatibility: The CLA ensures the Organisation can maintain and enforce the open source license
  See Open Source Model and Licensing for details on specific licenses used by different components.

6. Acceptance

By submitting a contribution to FactHarbor (via pull request, patch, or other mechanism), you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to these terms.
For questions about contributor classification or this agreement, contact the FactHarbor Organisation governance team.