What name should I place in the copyright notices of my open source project?

Question

I'm starting a new open source project (which will probably be released under the Apache license) and I've seen it recommended that copyright headers are placed at the top of source files, e.g.:

/*
Copyright [yyyy] [name of copyright owner]

Licensed under the ... license, etc...
*/

This makes a lot of sense, however I'm unclear about what name should be placed in place of [name of copyright owner]:

• Does the name need to be a legally recognised body? (e.g. a person, business or other organisation)
• Is it normal for open source projects to be released with an individual named as a copyright holder? (what happens if multiple individuals contribute to the project?)
• Under what circumstances might the name of the copyright owner be changed?

The obvious choice (at least for now) seems to be to release it with my name there, however my concern is around the implication of other people contributing to the project.

Answer 1

http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-howto.html

Answer 2

First: Copyright is a complex matter and what exactly is allowed/possible varies from country to country, so if you want a clear answer you should talk to a lawyer.

Usually, each individual author who contributed significantly to some module (usually with file-level granularity) is attributed in the copyright notice. Minor off-by-one fixes don't usually warrant being mentioned here, however.

Assigning copyright to another entity is possible, but usually only done if a project is big enough and under the umbrella of an dedicated entity that handles the source. See the Wikipedia article on Copyright for details.

Answer 3

• Does the name need to be a legally recognised body? (e.g. a person, business or other organisation)

The name can be an individual, business or other. The only criteria is that you can demonstrate that you own thw works i.e. didn't get paid to do it on behalf of someone else, then you are entitled to the copyright.

• Is it normal for open source projects to be released with an individual named as a >copyright holder? (what happens if multiple individuals contribute to the project?)

Yes. There are many smaller projects where only one person owns the copyright - the most immediate examples for me being the Ruby gems. Copyright is usually claimed at the level of a source file.

• Under what circumstances might the name of the copyright owner be changed?

You can sell or transfer the copyright as you wish. In that case, some other person or entity would now own the copyright.

There is some useful advice (including how to register the copyright) here and here