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

* [FFmpeg-devel] [PATCH v2] doc: add spi.txt
@ 2023-10-15 22:49 Michael Niedermayer
  2023-10-16  4:34 ` Lynne
                   ` (2 more replies)
  0 siblings, 3 replies; 11+ messages in thread
From: Michael Niedermayer @ 2023-10-15 22:49 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: FFmpeg development discussions and patches

This explains how to request refunds and what can be funded by SPI

Co-Author: Stefano Sabatini <stefasab@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/
+
+FFmpeg is an SPI associated project and donations can be collected and
+handled by SPI on behalf of FFmpeg. For details about the association
+check here:
+https://www.spi-inc.org/projects/ffmpeg/
+
+
+How to request refunds from SPI:
+--------------------------------
+Send a mail to ffmpeg-devel with the [REFUND-REQUEST] tag and a short
+description of the refund topic in the subject.
+
+In the mail, you also need to provide the amount to be refunded, with
+a short description of how the money was spent.
+
+There is no need and is not recommeded to send receipts when sending
+the refund request on the ffmpeg-devel mailing-list, but they are
+usually needed later when the request is approved and the refund
+request is sent to SPI:
+https://www.spi-inc.org/treasurer/reimbursement-form/
+
+
+What can be payed by SPI:
+-------------------------
+FFmpeg money collected at SPI can be used for any purpose which is in line with
+501(c)3 nonprofit rules, and within our mission (Free & OSS software).
+
+In practice we frequently payed for travel and hardware.
+For other refund expenses or sponsorships, it is recommended to
+discuss them beforehand on ffmpeg-devel. If there is a community
+agreement on their approval, the current FFmpeg liaison will followup
+to get an approval on the SPI side.
+
+
+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.)
+
+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.
-- 
2.17.1

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