As Charl put it, we need a few laws.
Charl suggested these 2:
1) every designer has to commit the source files
While I think that would be fantastic, I prefer that this isn't law, but rather strongly encouraged. I understand that it's quite a generous gift to donate your years work to an open project, and if you want to keep your source files that's fair enough. I'd rather have someone donate their finished files with source files than nothing at all.
2) once committed always commited
This indeed will be law, and there's little discussion around that. The project simply can't function is a designer donates their scenery and a year later wants it back. We're going to save ourselves that headache by making it a law that all commited scenery is commited with no strings attached. You transfer copyright to the group by commiting and have no right to revoke that
Ok, here are a few more laws that I suggest:
3) copyright is shared
This project and the individual owners own the copyright to the scenery. This means if I were to donate scenery, this project can do with it as it pleases as long my name is listed. On the other hand, I still am able to do with my files what I want. To clarify: I'm using some of my freeware to drive traffic to my commercial site. By donating it to this project (which I'll do) I can still use the scenery as standalone on my sites. This is only a bonus as in the end I'll also advertise this project. What I can't do however, is take a creation from someone else and rebrand it as my own. Copyright retains with the project itself and the original author, but does not transfer to other project members (if that makes sense).
4) freeware vs payware
I suggest that as this stage the project is freeware with the option to also distribute the whole thing or parts as payware at a later stage. How would that work? a) we need agreement from all contributors, or maybe a 3/4 majority agreement. b) as all scenery belongs to this project it can only be sold through the project, not individual members. To make it clear, I have no intention at this stage to make this payware nor do I exactly know how that would even work. I just don't want to discard the option if everyone here agreees we have a great opportunity whatever that may be...
Ok, that's what I can think of at the moment. Comments? Ideas? As with everything, I'd like to get a 'set of laws' we can all agree to.