# Maple Open Tech License (MOTL) Version 1.2 **Source-Available · Time-Released · Fair Use (Commercial Restrictions)** Copyright © 2025 Maple Open Tech --- ## License Parameters - **Licensed Work:** [SOFTWARE NAME] - **Version:** [VERSION NUMBER] - **Release Date:** [YYYY-MM-DD] - **Change Date:** Four (4) years from the Release Date, or [YYYY-MM-DD] - **Change License:** MIT License (https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT) - **Licensor:** Maple Open Tech (https://mapleopentech.ca) --- ## Plain-English Summary (Non-Binding) ### Before the Change Date - ✅ View, audit, and study the source code - ✅ Personal, academic, evaluation, and non-production use - ✅ Internal testing and proof-of-concept - ✅ Submit contributions - ❌ Production or business use without a Commercial License - ❌ Hosting or SaaS use without a Commercial License - ❌ Competing commercial services ### After the Change Date - ✅ This version becomes MIT-licensed with no restrictions --- ## 1. Definitions **“Licensed Work”** means the software, source code, object code, documentation, and related materials identified above. **“Licensor”** means Maple Open Tech. **“You”** or **“Licensee”** means the individual or entity exercising rights under this License. **“Production Use”** means use of the Licensed Work in a live or operational environment that provides value to You or to third parties, including business operations, commercial services, or processing real (non-test) data. **“Service Offering”** means providing the functionality of the Licensed Work to third parties as a hosted, managed, cloud, or software-as-a-service offering. **“Non-Production Use”** means personal, academic, research, evaluation, development, testing, or proof-of-concept use. **“Companion Animals”** means animals commonly kept for companionship, assistance, service, or protection, including but not limited to dogs, cats, and similar domesticated animals, and excludes animals raised primarily for food, fiber, or agricultural production. --- ## 2. Grant of Rights Subject to the terms of this License, the Licensor grants You a limited, worldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to: 1. Copy, view, and study the Licensed Work; 2. Modify the Licensed Work for Non-Production Use; 3. Create derivative works for Non-Production Use; 4. Submit contributions to the Licensed Work. Production Use or Service Offerings require a separate Commercial License. --- ## 3. Permitted Uses Without a Commercial License The following uses are permitted without a Commercial License: - Personal, non-commercial use; - Internal evaluation for a reasonable period not exceeding ninety (90) days; - Academic teaching or non-commercial research; - Use by registered non-profit or charitable organizations for non-commercial purposes; - Government use for **civilian, non-coercive public-service purposes**, such as education, health, or infrastructure administration, **excluding military, intelligence, immigration enforcement, or mass-surveillance uses**. --- ## 4. Restrictions Before the Change Date, You may not: 1. Use the Licensed Work in Production Use without a Commercial License; 2. Offer the Licensed Work as a Service Offering without a Commercial License; 3. Use the Licensed Work to create a competing commercial product or service; 4. Remove or obscure copyright or proprietary notices; 5. Use Licensor trademarks without written permission; 6. Sublicense, sell, rent, lease, or transfer the Licensed Work. These restrictions apply to modified and derivative works. --- ## 4A. Prohibited Uses (Ethical Restrictions) Notwithstanding any other provision of this License or any Commercial License, You may not use the Licensed Work, directly or indirectly, for any of the following purposes: ### 4A.1 Weapons or Lethal Systems The development, operation, support, or optimization of weapons, weapon systems, or systems designed primarily to cause physical injury or death to humans. ### 4A.2 Lethal, Extrajudicial, or Discriminatory Harm Any activity intended to facilitate or materially contribute to: - extrajudicial killing; - collective punishment; - targeting of individuals or groups based on protected characteristics; or - treatment of people as threats or “undesirables” outside lawful due process. ### 4A.3 Mass Surveillance or Population Control Mass or bulk surveillance of civilian populations, or systems designed primarily for population control, suppression, or intimidation rather than individualized, lawful investigation. ### 4A.4 Immigration Enforcement and Forced Removal Use of the Licensed Work for immigration enforcement, deportation, detention, or forced population removal, including use by agencies whose primary mandate is immigration control or border enforcement, regardless of whether such use is described as civil, administrative, or national-security related. ### 4A.5 Military, Intelligence, or Paramilitary Operations Use by or on behalf of armed forces, intelligence agencies, private military contractors, or similar organizations. #### Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Exception Notwithstanding this Section 4A.5, use of the Licensed Work by military or governmental entities is permitted **solely** for humanitarian assistance or disaster relief operations, provided that: a. The use is limited to emergency response, medical assistance, infrastructure repair, logistics, communications, or delivery of humanitarian aid; b. The Licensed Work is **not** used for combat operations, intelligence gathering, surveillance, targeting, law enforcement, population control, or security enforcement; c. Any data collected, processed, or generated using the Licensed Work is not retained, repurposed, or transferred for military, intelligence, or law-enforcement use; and d. The use is time-limited to the duration of the humanitarian or disaster relief operation. Any use outside these conditions constitutes a prohibited use under this License. ### 4A.6 Human Rights Violations Activities that materially contribute to persecution, discrimination, segregation, or deprivation of civil or human rights as recognized under international law. ### 4A.7 Biological or Environmental Harm Systems intended to cause large-scale harm to living organisms or ecosystems, including ecological eradication, environmental devastation, or biological warfare. #### Ethical Resource Extraction and Environmental Management Exception Notwithstanding this Section 4A.7, use of the Licensed Work is permitted for **lawful, regulated, and necessary resource extraction or environmental management activities**, provided that: a. The use is part of a legitimate operation related to energy, minerals, forestry, water, agriculture, infrastructure, or environmental remediation; b. The activity is conducted in compliance with applicable environmental laws, regulations, permits, and approval processes of the jurisdiction in which it occurs. For the purposes of this Section, **“applicable laws and regulations” include valid legal, regulatory, or governance frameworks exercised by First Nations with recognized authority over their lands, waters, or resources, including activities conducted pursuant to treaty rights, self-government agreements, or First Nations law**; c. The Licensed Work is not used with the primary purpose of causing environmental damage, nor to knowingly cause environmental harm that is unnecessary, avoidable, or clearly disproportionate to the legitimate objectives of the regulated activity; d. The Licensed Work is not used to plan, optimize, or carry out deliberate ecological destruction, scorched-earth extraction, or irreversible ecosystem damage where such damage is not an inherent and unavoidable consequence of the lawful activity; and e. Where applicable, the use supports impact mitigation, reclamation, monitoring, restoration, or reduction of environmental harm during or after the activity. Any use outside this scope constitutes a prohibited use under this License. #### Agriculture and Food Systems Exception Notwithstanding Sections 4A.1 and 4A.7, use of the Licensed Work is permitted for lawful agricultural, aquaculture, livestock, veterinary, or food-production purposes, including activities that may result in the slaughter of animals **solely for the production of food or agricultural goods**, provided that: a. The use is part of a legitimate, regulated food or agricultural operation; **For clarity, lawful cultivation, processing, and distribution of cannabis conducted in compliance with applicable federal, provincial, or territorial law is considered an agricultural and food-production purpose under this License**; b. The Licensed Work is not used to design, optimize, or carry out unnecessary suffering, mass extermination, or cruelty outside normal agricultural practice; c. The Licensed Work is not used for the destruction of Companion Animals, wildlife, or non-agricultural animal populations; and d. The Licensed Work is not used for ecological eradication, environmental devastation, or biological or chemical harm outside lawful agricultural use. Any use outside this scope constitutes a prohibited use under this License. ### 4A.8 Lawful Civilian Law Enforcement (Permitted Use) Use of the Licensed Work by civilian law-enforcement agencies at the municipal, provincial/state, or federal level is permitted **only** where such use: a. Supports lawful, individualized investigations or public-safety operations; b. Is subject to due process, judicial oversight, or applicable statutory limits; c. Is not intended to cause lethal harm except where such harm is incidental and not the purpose of the system; and d. Does not fall within Sections 4A.2, 4A.3, or 4A.4 of this License. ### 4A.9 Automated Targeting and Autonomous Harm Use of the Licensed Work to develop, train, deploy, or operate systems that autonomously or semi-autonomously identify, select, prioritize, track, or target individuals or groups of people for physical harm, detention, coercion, or lethal action is prohibited, regardless of whether a human operator is involved in later stages of execution. This prohibition applies to systems that materially contribute to such outcomes through automated decision-making, optimization, prediction, or recommendation, and applies irrespective of whether the system is described as artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, decision support, analytics, or similar terminology. --- ## 5. Time-Release Provision On the Change Date, this License automatically and irrevocably converts to the Change License for the specified version of the Licensed Work. No action by the Licensor is required. This applies only to the identified version. New versions may have different Change Dates. --- ## 6. Commercial Licensing Production Use, Service Offerings, or redistribution prior to the Change Date require a Commercial License, available from Maple Open Tech under separate terms. Commercial Licenses may grant additional rights but shall not permit any use prohibited under Section 4A. --- ## 7. Contributions By submitting a contribution, You grant the Licensor a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, modify, sublicense, and distribute the contribution under this License, the Change License, or a Commercial License. You represent that You have the legal right to grant this license. --- ## 8. Patent Grant Each contributor grants You a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free patent license to use the Licensed Work as permitted under this License. If You initiate patent litigation alleging infringement by the Licensed Work, all rights granted to You under this License terminate automatically. --- ## 9. Acceptance By using the Licensed Work, You agree to be bound by this License. If You do not agree, do not use the Licensed Work. --- ## 10. No Warranty THE LICENSED WORK IS PROVIDED **“AS IS”** AND **“AS AVAILABLE”**, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. You assume all risk arising from use of the Licensed Work. --- ## 11. Limitation of Liability To the maximum extent permitted by law, in no event shall the Licensor or contributors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of data, profits, or business interruption. For free or non-commercial use, the Licensor’s total aggregate liability shall not exceed **CAD $100**. Different liability terms may apply under a separate Commercial License. --- ## 12. Governing Law and Jurisdiction This License is governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Subject to applicable law, any dispute arising out of or relating to this License shall be brought exclusively in the courts of competent jurisdiction located in Ontario, Canada. Nothing in this License prevents the Licensor from seeking injunctive or equitable relief in the Federal Court of Canada to protect its intellectual property. --- ## 13. No Consumer Offering / No Foreign Targeting The Licensed Work is intended for professional, developer, academic, and organizational use. It is not intended for consumer or household use. The Licensed Work is not specifically directed to users in any jurisdiction outside Canada. Use of the Licensed Work outside Canada is at the Licensee’s sole risk. --- ## 14. Termination This License terminates automatically upon breach. Upon termination, You must cease use and destroy all copies of the Licensed Work. Termination does not affect rights granted under the Change License after the Change Date. --- ## 15. General Provisions If any provision of this License is held unenforceable, it shall be severed and the remainder enforced. This License constitutes the entire agreement regarding the Licensed Work. You may not assign this License without written consent from the Licensor. --- ## Contact - **Licensing:** licensing@mapleopentech.ca - **Website:** https://mapleopentech.ca/license --- *Maple Open Tech License (MOTL) v1.2 – Canada-Centric*