[FFmpeg-devel] [PATCH 3/3] doc: add spi.txt

[Andreas Rheinhardt]

Michael Niedermayer:
> This explains how to request refunds and what can be funded by SPI
> ---
>  doc/spi.txt | 50 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  1 file changed, 50 insertions(+)
>  create mode 100644 doc/spi.txt
> 
> diff --git a/doc/spi.txt b/doc/spi.txt
> new file mode 100644
> index 0000000000..7d85de8f09
> --- /dev/null
> +++ b/doc/spi.txt
> @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
> +How to request refunds from SPI:
> +--------------------------------
> +Send a mail to ffmpeg-devel with [REFUND-REQUEST] in the subject
> +
> +
> +What can be payed by SPI:
> +-------------------------
> +FFmpeg money collected at SPI can be used for any purpose which is OK by
> +501(c)3 nonprofit rules, and within our mission (Free & OSS software).
> +
> +In practice we frequently payed for Travel and Hardware.
                                       ^          ^
                                       t          h

> +For other things, it is recommanded to disscuss them beforehand
                                 ^          ^
                                 e

> +on ffmpeg-devel and if the community agrees to fund them, also with
> +SPI through stefano before starting with anything.
               ^
               S

> +
> +
> +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 prohibitied.
                                               ^

> +
> +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.)
> +
> +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 retain ownership rights.
                    ^
                    s

This should explain what the abbreviations stand for.

- Andreas