diff --git a/dev-support/test-patch.sh b/dev-support/test-patch.sh
index 1d9be8f5a9..37dc13aeef 100755
--- a/dev-support/test-patch.sh
+++ b/dev-support/test-patch.sh
@@ -914,6 +914,7 @@ if [[ $RESULT != 0 ]] ; then
 fi
 buildWithPatch
 checkAuthor
+(( RESULT = RESULT + $? ))
 
 if [[ $JENKINS == "true" ]] ; then
   cleanUpXml
diff --git a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/CHANGES.txt b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/CHANGES.txt
index 338f3816d9..d42f3a11d5 100644
--- a/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/CHANGES.txt
+++ b/hadoop-common-project/hadoop-common/CHANGES.txt
@@ -254,6 +254,9 @@ Trunk (Unreleased)
     (default behavior in some bash setups (esp. Ubuntu))
     (Chiristopher Berner and Andy Isaacson via harsh)
 
+    HADOOP-8839. test-patch's -1 on @author tag presence doesn't cause
+    a -1 to the overall result (harsh)
+
   OPTIMIZATIONS
 
     HADOOP-7761. Improve the performance of raw comparisons. (todd)