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License fixes

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Lawrence Bethlenfalvy
2025-11-21 15:06:26 +01:00
parent 603efef28e
commit 663ff612ba
2 changed files with 16 additions and 5 deletions
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README.md
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@@ -35,12 +35,14 @@ Orchids and mangrove trees form complex ecosystems; The flowers persuade the tre
All contributions are welcome. For the time being, use the issue tracker to discuss ideas.
## Forks
By contributing to this software, you declare that you have created or otherwise own your contribution, agree to license it under the general noncommercial licence included in this repository, and grant me (the owner of the project) a permanent, unrestricted license to use, modify, distribute and relicense your contribution under any terms I see fit.
The code in this repository is available under the GNU GPLv3, but identifying marks stored in the repository are restricted for use with an unmodified copy of this software. If you distribute modified versions of this software, you must either replace these identifying marks or modify them in a way that clearly indicates that what you are distributing is a derivative work and not this official vversion. You must also replace any contact information in such a way that your derivative work does not suggest that we may be contacted about issues. Your derivative work may use the original identifying marks and contact information to identify this project as its basis, while emphasizing that the authors of the original project are neither in control of, nor liable for the derivative work.
## About the license
Identifying marks include the Orchid logo, the ribbon image above, and the names "Orchid", "Orchidlang" unless they are part of a technical interface.
This software is free for noncommercial use. If you would like to use it for commercial purposes, or distribute your derivative work under a license that permits commercial use, contact me for a separate license. These licences are provided on a case-by-case basis with any limitations and compensation we agree on.
Contact information includes email addresses, links to the source code and issue tracker.
I generally appreciate the ethos of open-source software, and particularly the patterns used in copyleft to cement the longevity of the guarantees of the licence. However, I don't think commercial entities fit that ethos, and I think they should be addressed separately rather than attempting to ignore the inherent unfairness towards contributors.
Words listed as identifying marks are explicltly not considered as such when they appear in technical interfaces or APIs. For example, shell commands, identifiers within Orchid or Rust code, and names in package registries are not considered as identifying marks.
My intent with the custom license included in this project is to enable the strong guarantees of open-source towards open-source, while leaving commercial users to engage with this project and its possible future ecosystem in a commercial way; if you intend to profit off my work, the barest cash flow should justify shooting me an email and agreeing on a simple temporary profit sharing deal until you figure out your business model, and the cash flow of a full scale business should more than justify dedicated attention to the software you rely on.
The clause about identifying marks is intended to prevent another pitfall of open-source, wherein Linux distros borrow entire codebases, break them, and then distribute the result under the original author's name. If would like to package Orchid, I'd be delighted if you would talk to me about making it official, but if you would rather operate independently, you should present your project as the rogue derivative work that it is rather than borrowing the original project's identity for something its owner has no control over.