FAQ statement explaining how CINC is using and redistribution the OSS content of Chef and that we are doing so correctly
My goal is to ensure as users of CINC come to use our products - they will have questions to how this relates to the Chef IP and its OSS software. They will ask as a community packaged distribution, have we as a project, ensured that we have removed all need trademarked material from the chef code base and have to validate this with Chef. CentOS had to work the same statement with respect to RH when they started and Redhat actually had an FAQ item outlining that even though the CentOS work was a redistribution of their OSS IP it was clear of any trademarked content, that it was not connected with RedHat and that in no way was RedHat backing or supporting it ( prior to acquiring the project that is ),
This is a benefit to us as it allows the CINC project to clearly answer concerns of the migrating user community, that using the CINC project allows them to use the technology with no obligation to Chef and that, most importantly, that chef, in no way, can come back later and ask them to pay for something.
The statement could be something like:
- CINC is s repackaged distribution of the pure OSS products of the chef software line including: chef-infra, inspec, automate, … which are free of any chef trademarked content.
- CINC is a purely Apache-2.0 licensed project.
- CINC is free of any chef EULA.
- Note: The CINC project has worked with Chef, Inc and its legal team ( see Wiki and discussions here and here etc ) to ensure that we are using only Apache-2.0 OSS content and have removed any Chef proprietary content
- < other things the IP lawyer may suggest we outline > The above should be vetted by an IP and Contract lawyer
Finally, a statement from Chef on their FAQ that they worked with the project to assert the above would lock it in.