[tdf-discuss] What is the foundation for?

Catching up on the Copyright Assignments thread (since I have not looked at my 
e-mail since last Wednesday), it seems there may be a need to understand what 
TDF is needed for as an entity - in other words, why do we need a foundation?

While in some respects I can very well see that a foundation/legal entity may 
not be needed; there are probably some very good reason for one; and I'd suggest 
looking at the Gentoo Foundation as one model of what TDF could be for 
LibreOffice and other similar projects.

Please see the following for information on the Gentoo Foundation:

http://www.gentoo.org/foundation/en/

To summarize:


The bureaucracy we mention includes: 
        * financial caretaking: accepting donations, managing financial assets and     
investing in required resources or entities that benefit the Gentoo     
development 

        * juridical protection: backing up the licenses Gentoo uses, maintaining the     
copyrights on Gentoo's software, documentation and other assets and      
protecting Gentoo's intellectual property 

        * Gentoo caretaking: protecting the community by requiring total adherence to     
the Gentoo Social Contract 

In other words, the Gentoo Foundation will: 
        * protect the use of the Gentoo trademark and logo 
        * protect the developed code, documentation, artwork and other material     
through copyright and licenses 

        * sponsor Gentoo-related conferences and technical development resources 
        * oversee development so it adheres to the social contract Leaving the entire 
Copyright Assignment discussion aside (as there is already a thread for that), 
perhaps it would be helpful to discuss what the foundation itself is. I think 
the above is a good referential starting point.

Please note that the Gentoo does support numerous languages - in documentation, 
help, etc. - so it is similarly international to what TDF ought to become. The 
delta, I think, is how non-person legal entities would fit in - since Gentoo 
doesn't have nor requires any; but that is a rather minor point (again, I 
believe there might be another thread for that, or it may already be before the 
SC.).

Also, similar to the existing SC, Gentoo has a board of individuals to guide the 
Gentoo Project. All individuals are elected yearly, and serve to make the 
larger, over-arching decisions.

While I am not familiar with Debian's organization, I assume they would also be 
another good example - especially since Gentoo-based at least some of their 
materials (e.g. the Social Contract) on Debian's.

Hopefully we can clear up some mis-understandings and fill in areas that lack 
clarity with this thread. (At least, that is my hope.) Perhaps this could also 
give the SC & founders some ideas as to what to do or who to consult as well.

Ben


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