Even Non-Profits Are About the Money (Lit Review)

March 2, 2015

Who

Software Freedom Law Center

What

A Legal Issues Primer for Open Source and Free Software Projects (Ch. 3)

Where

PDF Document

When

2008

The Gist

Any project which begins to involve more than a few people must choose ways to organize its leadership and structure
Chapter 3 of the text explains how organizations can be structured legally, and gives advice on which might be right for certain situations
There is a complex legal web surrounding organizations and their income, especially 501(c)(3) non-profits

The Good

The chapter covers a variety of ways to legally incorporate and instructions for doing so
The Software Freedom Conservancy and other umbrella organizations are mentioned, which are relatively unknown outside of the FOSS community
Clarifies that recording meeting minutes is legally required for incorporated organizations

The Bad

Extremely local perspective (extreme detail about New York specifically)
Mentions “509(a)(1)” without ever defining what that is
Never really addresses if or when it’s “okay” to not incorporate a large project

The Questions

Are there states with potential incorporation incentives for non-profits other than Delaware?
How could an individual developer ever be liable for “implied warranties” on software they give away?
The chapter makes no mention of paid services which assist in incorporation, for example LegalZoom. Is there any reason a FOSS non-profit shouldn’t use a service such as LegalZoom?