Add Attribution Clause feature and configurable legal-compliant workflow

[fpietrosanti]

This ticket is to add a small "Powered by $PRODUCT_NAME - AGPLv3 Licensed" in the footer of the software and implement the configurable legal-compliant workaround around the Attribution Clause license feature.

This shall not be the "Customable footer" (that today already mention GlobaLeaks but it's designed to be configurable) but an additional simple/small text with an hyperlink to the product name website (being GlobaLeaks by default, but maybe also OpenWhistleblowing).

From the web administration interface it must be possible to disable it, but disabling it require:

• informing the user that there is a Attribution Clause, that the Copyright owner is the Hermes Center and that the Exclusive licensor to remove the Attribution is the Whistleblowing Solutions
• sending a notification to the copyright owner (actually the Hermes Center) and to Whistleblowing Solutions asking to remove such an attribution clause

When disabling the "Powered by" the admin is informed with a proper dialog about the legal licensing duty of the Attribution Clause, being presented a form that will ask him to type:

• The reason he is removing it
• Where else it's going to be mentioned (maybe he just want to remove from the software but put it on the website of the whistleblowing initiative)
• Whenever he already have received an exception to the attribution clause from Whistleblowing Solution or not
• His name, surname, organization name and email

Then he confirm the selection, click Ok and the "Powered by" get disabled and an email is sent to the copyright owner.

The copyright owner email address must be hardcoded into the sourcecode.

Note: Possibly a REST web service to receive this inquiry is better for resiliency purposes, confirming that it has been sent

[fpietrosanti]

/cc @NSkelsey @evilaliv3

[evilaliv3]

I think this ticket could be deprecated as users are required to accept the license as they install the software.

The only value of this ticket would have been to force users accept the license when changing the footer but actually at at the time of writing there are many reasons that makes this ticket usefulness or not practicable:

• custom client
• custom javascript
• custom css

Given these possibilities the implementation of the feature described here will make it possible for the user to plausibly defend himself saying: i modified it in a different way in an unconscious way with respect to the license so that i'm not liable for anything.

Better to close this ticket as possible cause of more failure than success and let's accept to have implemented a clear acceptance of the license at installation time.

[fpietrosanti]

This is juridically relevant to provide a clear, guided and official way to do so.

The very same should be done for each capability in doing personalisation trough officially exposed functionalities, not involving directly source code modification.

With the regards to the source code modification, it should be reasonable to mention explicitly before and after the "Powered by GlobaLeaks" template to add proper informative disclaimer.

Any viable method to do so, should just gracefully inform about the licensing requirements.

[evilaliv3]

I understand the point of view, i just dream that a senior expert on the topic could support us in this topic or we could just stand on the shoulders of giants by copying AS IS an existing well known implementation.

[fpietrosanti]

@evilaliv3 most implementation taking care of those specific topic are entities doing dual-licensing with a free/oss and a commercial product. We are a peculiar toy, as we take care of those topic to protect the freedom of the software, without releasing a secondary commercial edition of globaleaks.