COLLABORATION_AGREEMENT.md

# Collaboration agreement

The CORSIKA project very much welcomes all collaboration and
contributions. The aim of the CORSIKA project is to create a
scientific software framework as a fundamental tool for research. The
collaboration agreement and the licensing model are based on the
guidelines layed out by HSF
[[1]](https://hepsoftwarefoundation.org/activities/licensing.html) or
CERN
[[2]](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwiLqKG00dXdAhUOZFAKHdIwAh4QFjAAegQIARAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Findico.cern.ch%2Fcategory%2F4251%2Fattachments%2F101%2F505%2FOSL-2012-01-Open_Source_Licences_at_CERN-Short_version.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1n4S0PQCSeE6wbdfdhKDqF),
[[3]](http://legal.web.cern.ch/licensing/software), and follow the
examples of other big scientific software projects.

The CORSIKA project consists of the contributions from the scientific
community and individuals in a best effort to deliver the best
possible computing performance and physics output. All possible
liability and licensing question are strictly handled by the adopted
software license.

## The software license of the CORSIKA project
The license adopted for the CORSIKA project is the explicit copyleft
license GPLv3, as copied in full in the file
[LICENSE](LICENSE). Each source file of the CORSIKA project contains a
short statement of the copyright and this license. Each binary or
source code release of CORSIKA must contain the file LICENSE. The
code, documentation and content in the folder [ThirdParty](ThirdParty)
is not integral part of the CORSIKA project and can be based on or
include other licenses, which must be compatible with GPLv3. Check the
content of this folder for details. It depends on the configuration of
the build system to what extend this code is used to build CORSIKA.

## Who is the "copyright holder"
For legal reasons and the ability to maintain the CORSIKA project
effectively over a very long lifespan of several decades, all
contributors are required to transfer their copyright to the CORSIKA
Project. Of course you will be duly credited and your name will appear
on the contributors page and in the [AUTHORS](AUTHORS) file shipped
with every binary and source distribution. The copyright transfer is
necessary to be able to effectively defend the project in case of
litigation. The copyright holder may change, if decided by the CORSIKA
Project. The current copyright holder is the CORSIKA Project
corsika-project@lists.kit.edu, with the current chair person Ralf Ulrich (KIT) ralf.ulrich@kit.edu.

## Definition of a "contributor"
Contributor is a person of whom at least one merge request was
accepted for the master branch of the CORSIKA project at
[https://gitlab.ikp.kit.edu/AirShowerPhysics/corsika](https://gitlab.ikp.kit.edu/AirShowerPhysics/corsika).
All contributors will be co-listed and credited as (software) authors
of the CORSIKA project, as well as listed indefinitely in the
[AUTHORS](AUTHORS) file. Contributors should add their name and
contact data to the [AUTHORS](AUTHORS) file, as part of one of their
merge requests. This file is always distributed together with all
source and binary releases.  If you contribute to any non-master
branch, you can add your name to the [AUTHORS](AUTHORS) file of this
particular branch, but all official releases are normally performed
via the master branch.

If you want to contribute, you need to read
[GUIDELINES](GUIDELINES.md) and comply with these rules, or help to
improve them.

## Definition and role of a "scientific author"
The scientific authors of the CORSIKA project must be credited in any
scientific context, for example in talks, proceedings, posters,
journal paper or any other publication or outreach
document. Scientific authors or contributors are listed in
[SCIENTIFIC\_AUTHORS](SCIENTIFIC\_AUTHORS). Credit can be given by
listing the names explicitly, or by referring to the
SCIENTIFIC\_AUTHORS file of a specific CORSIKA release, or to a
standard published CORSIKA reference in a refereed
journal. Individuals are only included as scientific authors if the
CORSIKA Projects agrees on it, and any such decision can be revisited,
changed or revoked at any time by the CORSIKA Project. The list of
scientific authors will change with time, reflecting the active group
of individuals that actually contribute to a specific state/release of
the CORSIKA project. For specific scientific publications, the list of
scientific authors can also be extended beyond SCIENTIFIC\_AUTHORS by
the CORSIKA Project, for example to highlight additional important
input on physics, technology or modelling.

## Definition and working mode of the CORSIKA Project panel
The CORSIKA Project panel makes all decisions for the CORSIKA
Project. It can also change the
[COLLABORATION\_AGREEMENT](COLLABORATION\_AGREEMENT.md), the
[GUIDELINES](GUIDELINES.md) or any other structure or document relevant for the CORSIKA Project.

The CORSIKA Project *panel* consists (October 2018) of
   
  * Ralph Engel (KIT)
  * Dieter Heck (KIT)
  * Tanguy Pierog (KIT)
  * Maximilian Reininghaus (KIT)
  * Markus Roth (KIT)
  * Ralf Ulrich (KIT)
  * Michael Unger (KIT)
  * Darko Veberic (KIT)
  
and can be contacted via corsika-project@lists.kit.edu.  The chair
person of the CORSIKA Project is Ralf Ulrich (KIT). Members of the
CORSIKA Project *panel* are *Maintainer* of the CORSIKA Project in
gitlab at
[https://gitlab.ikp.kit.edu/AirShowerPhysics/corsika](https://gitlab.ikp.kit.edu/AirShowerPhysics/corsika),
and have special responsibilities for this reason. 

## Accepting new contributors, and authors
The CORSIKA Project can accept new scientific authors to be added to
[SCIENTIFIC\_AUTHORS](SCIENTIFIC\_AUTHORS), or remove them from
there. Agreement to be scientific author can be linked to a temporary
task or assignment. Not compliance with the
[GUIDELINES](GUIDELINES.md), or inactivity, are reasons to be removed
from the list.

## Changing to a different license, for parts, or the complete project
The CORSIKA Project can change the license for parts or the entire project. 

## Planning and performing releases

The CORSIKA Project decides on releases of the software, and about the content of it. 

## Changes to the Collaboration Agreement

The CORSIKA Project decides on changes to the Collaboration
agreement.