[FFmpeg-devel] [PATCH v2] doc: add spi.txt

[Alexander Strasser]

On 2023-10-16 00:49 +0200, Michael Niedermayer wrote:
> This explains how to request refunds and what can be funded by SPI
>
> Co-Author: Stefano Sabatini <stefasab at gmail.com>
> ---
>  doc/spi.txt | 73 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  1 file changed, 73 insertions(+)
>  create mode 100644 doc/spi.txt
>
> diff --git a/doc/spi.txt b/doc/spi.txt
> new file mode 100644
> index 0000000000..ff4af8f42b
> --- /dev/null
> +++ b/doc/spi.txt
> @@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
> +SPI (Software in the Public Interest) is a non-profit corporation
> +registered in the state of New York founded to act as a fiscal sponsor
> +for organizations that develop open source software and hardware. For
> +details check here:
> +https://www.spi-inc.org/
> +
[...]
> +
> +Is it possible to fund active development by SPI:
> +(the texts below have been taken from multiple
> + replies FFmpeg has received from SPI, they have been edited
> + so that "I" was replaced by "SPI" in some cases.)
> +-------------------------------------------------
> +Paying for development *does* require substantial
> +additional paperwork, but it is not prohibited.
> +
> +Several SPI projects pay contractors for development
> +efforts.  SPI needs a contract in place which describes the work to be
> +done.  There are also various things SPI needs to check (e.g. are they a
> +US person or not, as with GSoC mentor payments; are they really a
> +contractor and not a employee).
> +
> +SPI can't deal with employment at the moment because that involves a
> +lot of work, like health insurance, tax withholding, etc.  Contractors
> +are easier because they have to take care of that themselves; Whether
> +someone is a contractor vs employee depends on various factors (that
> +of course are different in every country) and can be disputed (see
> +e.g. the debate about whether Uber drivers are employees); SPI has a
> +questionnaire about their circumstances.)
                                           ^
Minor nit: Unbalanced parenthesis

Can just be removed I read it correctly.


Best regards,
  Alexander


> +Unfortunately, there's no one-size-fits all when dealing with contractors.
> +As already mentioned, without knowing the contributor's country
> +
> +SPI does have templates, but they depend on the contractors country. If it's
> +US, Australia, France and a couple others SPI could provide them next day,
> +otherwise SPI would need to ask their attorney to draft one, which would
> +take some time
> +
> +Also, SPI has two models, MSA (which transfers ownership) and CSA (which
> +grants a license instead). SPI usually sends the MSA (it's better for most
> +purposes), but for development purposes, some projects prefer that the
> +contractor retains ownership rights.
> --