Introduction

Projects started outside of the Green Software Foundation (GSF) can be donated to the Green Software Foundation.

Benefits of donating a project

Projects donated to GSF are:

• in a neutral environment which fosters collaborative, open development and offers a path to maturity via progressing through the Project Lifecycle
• available for contribution from our 50+ member organizations
• given marketing support from GSF, including:
• being listed on the GSF website and in our newsletter updates;
• the opportunity to participate in GSF events; and
• shout-outs and connections via social media.
• given mentorship in areas such as, but not limited to:
• project management;
• governance;
• legal;
• tooling;
• security best practices; and
• documentation.

Approval

To donate to the GSF, a project must meet either the Incubation approval criteria (if it is a software project) or Draft approval criteria (if it is a documentation project). These criteria are as follows:

Software project (Incubation criteria)

Document project (Draft criteria)

Membership of donor body

If the donor is already a GSF member, they can continue to work on and run the project but must jointly share it with other member organizations.

If the donor is not a GSF member, they must find a representative of at least one GSF member organization, who is also a Working Group attendee, to take over the project. The conditions in the below must also be met.

Transfer of project ownership

If you donate a project to the GSF, you must transfer complete ownership of it over to the Foundation. This transfer of ownership includes all intellectual property associated with the project, such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, and any other proprietary rights. By transferring ownership, you surrender all rights and authority over the project, and the Green Software Foundation will assume full responsibility for the future development, management, and distribution of the project.

This transfer of ownership is mandatory based on the rules specified in the GSF Charter. This charter outlines the Foundation’s goals, principles, and objectives, which focus on promoting software solutions that are sustainable, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly. Therefore, it is necessary for the Foundation to have full ownership of the projects it supports to ensure that they align with its mission and values. The project must also comply with the licensing conditions of the Working Group eg. OSWG must use MIT.

Appendix

Project donation From a non-member

1. Intellectual Property: This refers to any creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, symbols, designs, and names used in commerce. It’s important to review the intellectual property involved in a project to ensure that there are no infringements or conflicts with existing patents, trademarks, or copyrights.
2. Source Code Copyright Agreement: This agreement outlines the terms and conditions under which the source code of a software product can be used, modified, and distributed. It’s important to review this agreement to ensure that it complies with the project’s goals and objectives.
3. Dataset License Agreement: This agreement outlines the terms and conditions under which a dataset can be used, modified, and distributed. It’s important to review this agreement to ensure that the dataset is being used in compliance with any legal and ethical guidelines.
4. Patent Policy: This refers to a set of guidelines that dictate how patents are managed within an organization. It’s important to review the patent policy to ensure that it aligns with the project’s goals and objectives and that any potential patent issues are addressed in a fair and consistent manner.

Non-Member Agreement to be Signed By Donating Contributor or Organization

The [Green Software Foundation] (the “Project”) would like to receive input, contributions, suggestions and other feedback (“Contributions”) on the specifications, documents, source code, data, and other artifacts being developed within its working groups (the “Materials”). By signing below, you (on behalf of yourself if you are an individual and your company if you are providing Contributions on behalf of the company) grant the Project under all applicable intellectual property rights owned or Controlled by you or your company a non-exclusive, non-transferable, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use, disclose, copy, publish, license, modify, sublicense or otherwise distribute and exploit Contributions you provide for the purpose of developing and promoting the Materials and in connection with any product that implements and complies with the Materials. You warrant to the best of your knowledge that you have the rights to provide this Contributions, and if you are providing Contributions on behalf of a company, you warrant that you have the rights to provide Contributions on behalf of your company. You also acknowledge that the Project is not required to incorporate your Contributions into any version of the Materials. You further agree that you and your company will not disclose it or distribute drafts of the non-public Project Materials to third parties. Unless the parties agree otherwise or the Project Materials are made publicly available by the Project, this obligation of non-disclosure will expire five (5) years from the date the material was disclosed to you.

Source Code

Any source code you provide to the Project is subject to the Developer Certificate of Origin version 1.1, available at http://developercertificate.org/ and the license indicated in the Project’s source repository for the Materials.

Dataset

Any data you provide to the Project is subject to the license agreement indicated in the Project’s source repository for the Materials.

Signature: Print Name: Title: Company Name (if applicable): Email: Address: Date:

Note: Prior to any agreement, the GSF Legal Outside Council will review all proposed project donations.