This license allows the use of the software in closed-source commercial products or services , provided that:
- The software is not open-sourced
- The product/service is commercial and generates revenue from the software’s functionality
- A royalty of [e.g., 5%] of net profit is paid quarterly to the licensor
Users must notify the licensor before commercial use and may be required to submit financial reports for compliance verification. Non-commercial and open-source uses are permitted under the separate Open Source License.
Motivation
Open-source maintainers have to eat too. They need to pay rent, buy groceries, and support themselves just like anyone else. Yet in today’s world, big companies can easily take open-source code and build profitable products around it — often without giving anything back. Attempts to restrict this behavior can end up hurting the project or pushing away potential contributors.
That’s why we’re proposing a model that supports both openness and fairness. If a company takes the code, creates a closed-source fork, and makes significant revenue from it, then part of those profits should flow back into the original project. This helps fund ongoing development, maintenance, and innovation.
Importantly, this only applies when the fork is closed-source and commercially successful — not when the company contributes back or keeps their changes open. This approach differs from licenses like BSL or Fair License, which aim to block companies from using the software in competitive scenarios altogether. Our model doesn’t prevent usage; it encourages contribution when value is extracted privately.
At its core, this strategy tries to keep open source sustainable — so developers aren’t left supporting multi-billion-dollar businesses for free.
Need help!
I am not a lawyer and I would like, if it is interesting to someone else, get valuable comments.
License
License to the repository CC0-1.0