A Compatibility Guide for Corporate Contributors: Navigating Project License Requirements:

Understanding Contribution License Agreements at a Glance

Type of Contribution	Who’s Contributing	Governing Agreement
MIT-licensed code	Individual	DCO (Developer Certificate of Origin)
MIT-licensed code	Corporation	DCO (Developer Certificate of Origin)
EE-directory code	Individual	Individual CLA
EE-directory code	Corporation	Corporate CLA

Licensing Approach for Co-Create

Key Points to Understand:

• No pre-approval process is required before teams can start contributing during Co-Create engagements
• Contributors automatically accept the governing agreement (DCO or CLA) through submission of a contribution
• The code location determines which agreement applies (MIT-licensed = DCO, EE-directory = CLA)

For Corporations who require an overarching CLA:

• Some organizations may wish to execute an overarching Corporate CLA that governs all contributions made on behalf of the corporation in order to manage who is authorized to contribute on behalf of the corporation.
• In these cases, GitLab offers an optional overarching Corporate CLA

Managing Corporate Contributions

For organizations participating in Co-Create, there are two paths:

1. Standard Contribution Path:

   • Employees can immediately begin contribute to GitLab code
   • By contributing, they automatically accept the governing license agreement
   • No pre-approval or formal setup required

2. Formal CLA Management (Optional):

   • For organizations requiring explicit contributor management
   • Contact cla_managers@gitlab.com to initiate the formal Corporate CLA process
   • GitLab creates a dedicated group at gitlab.com/gitlab-corporate-cla/[your-company]
   • Your organization designates administrators to manage authorized contributors

Average timeline: 2-3 weeks from initial contact to full approval

Frequently Asked Questions

For answers to common questions about contributions, ownership, and licensing, please see Frequently Asked Questions on the DCO & CLA page.

Getting Started

To expedite the legal process:

1. Share this page and the GitLab DCO & CLA with your legal team
2. Contact cla_managers@gitlab.com to initiate the Corporate CLA process
3. Prepare a list of authorized contributions, including each contributor’s GitLab usernames.

Contact Information

For legal questions: cla_managers@gitlab.com For Co-Create program questions: contributors@gitlab.com