Contributor License Agreement

While an OSS license governs how the public may use, modify, and redistribute the OSS, a CLA governs the relationship between the contributor and the project maintainers. A CLA typically ensures that contributions are original and free of conflicting rights. This provides maintainers with legal clarity and security when managing contributions from many independent contributors and entities. 

Some CLAs also require contributors to grant rights that go beyond those in the project’s OSS license, for example, granting patent rights or broad relicensing permissions, which may be excessive or misaligned with a contributor’s expectations.

As a result, CLAs are generally viewed as providing useful legal certainty to project maintainers but also as imposing obligations on contributors that warrant careful consideration before agreeing.

The short answer is that the use of a CLA is not required for OSS projects. Many community-driven projects work well without one and rely instead on standard OSS licenses or a simple Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO), which allows contributors to affirm their rights to contribute without adding extra paperwork or legal complexity. This keeps barriers low and encourages broader participation.

However, if you expect the project to grow into something with long-term or commercial potential, offer dual licensing, or explore other business opportunities, having a CLA in place early can help you reserve the rights you might need later that dictate how you can use and distribute the received contributions.

If the code to be contributed was created within your employment scope at ETH Zurich, ETH Zurich holds the exclusive rights of use and exploitation of the code (Federal Act on the Federal Institutes of Technology, external page Article 36, para. 2). This means that only ETH Zurich can determine who and under what conditions can access, use, distribute, and redistribute (including license and sueblicense) the code. In this sense, ETH Zurich is regarded as the copyright "owner" or "holder" of such code. Thus, only ETH Zurich is legally entitled to sign the Corporate Contributor License Agreement (CCLA) provided by the project maintainer. 

Please note that an external CCLA must be reviewed by ETH transfer. Please use the form below on this page to submit relevant information and request for reviewing the CCLA. We will review the CCLA to make sure it aligns with ETH policies and, if yes, help you find a qualified signatory to sign the CLA on behalf of ETH Zurich.  

On the other hand, If you are an individual writing the code outside of your employment scope and you're SURE tthat you are the sole owner of any intellectual property you contribute, you can contribute this code as an individual contributor by signing the Individual Contributor License Agreement (ICLA) provied by the project maintainer.