Projects do not thrive when there are ambivalences and ambiguities around the ownership of the code that makes up the project, as can be seen from the fallout among the various projects that Oracle inherited through its purchase of Sun Microsystems.The problem is not restricted to ownership of the code per se, but manifests itself in a lack of transparency around the future direction and licensing of the code. Devices such as dual licensing, copyright assignment and Community Licence Agreements (CLAs) can have unintended consequences; they can strip away the clarity of a project's purpose and act as a disincentive to the sense of community that is the lifeblood of an open source project.