277 lines
12 KiB
Text
277 lines
12 KiB
Text
# Maple Open Tech License (MOTL) Version 1.0
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**Source-Available · Time-Released · Ethical Use License**
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Copyright © 2025 Maple Open Tech
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---
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## License Parameters
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- **Licensed Work:** [SOFTWARE NAME]
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- **Version:** [VERSION NUMBER]
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- **Release Date:** [YYYY-MM-DD]
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- **Change Date:** Four (4) years from the Release Date, or [YYYY-MM-DD]
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- **Change Effect:** Removal of commercial and revenue-centered restrictions
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- **Licensor:** Maple Open Tech (https://mapleopentech.ca)
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---
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## Plain-English Summary (Non-Binding)
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### Before the Change Date
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- ✅ View, audit, and study the source code
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- ✅ Personal, academic, evaluation, and non-production use
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- ✅ Internal testing and proof-of-concept
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- ✅ Submit contributions
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- ✅ Ethical restrictions in Section 4A apply
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- ❌ Production or business use without a Commercial License
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- ❌ Hosting or SaaS use without a Commercial License
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- ❌ Competing commercial services
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### After the Change Date
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- ✅ Production, commercial, and unrestricted use is permitted
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- ⚠️ Ethical restrictions in Section 4A continue to apply
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---
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## 1. Definitions
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**“Licensed Work”** means the software, source code, object code, documentation, and related materials identified above.
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**“Licensor”** means Maple Open Tech.
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**“You”** or **“Licensee”** means the individual or entity exercising rights under this License.
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**“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.
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**“Service Offering”** means providing the functionality of the Licensed Work to third parties as a hosted, managed, cloud, or software-as-a-service offering.
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**“Non-Production Use”** means personal, academic, research, evaluation, development, testing, or proof-of-concept use.
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**“Companion Animals”** means animals commonly kept for companionship, assistance, service, or protection, including dogs, cats, and similar domesticated animals, and excludes animals raised primarily for food, fiber, or agricultural production.
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---
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## 2. Grant of Rights
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Subject to the terms of this License, the Licensor grants You a limited, worldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to:
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1. Copy, view, and study the Licensed Work;
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2. Modify the Licensed Work for Non-Production Use;
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3. Create derivative works for Non-Production Use;
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4. Submit contributions to the Licensed Work.
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Production Use or Service Offerings prior to the Change Date require a separate Commercial License.
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---
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## 3. Permitted Uses Without a Commercial License
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The following uses are permitted without a Commercial License:
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- Personal, non-commercial use;
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- Internal evaluation for a reasonable period not exceeding ninety (90) days;
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- Academic teaching or non-commercial research;
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- Use by registered non-profit or charitable organizations for non-commercial purposes;
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- 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**.
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---
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## 4. Restrictions
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Before the Change Date, You may not:
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1. Use the Licensed Work in Production Use without a Commercial License;
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2. Offer the Licensed Work as a Service Offering without a Commercial License;
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3. Use the Licensed Work to create a competing commercial product or service;
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4. Remove or obscure copyright or proprietary notices;
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5. Use Licensor trademarks without written permission;
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6. Sublicense, sell, rent, lease, or transfer the Licensed Work.
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These restrictions apply to modified and derivative works.
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---
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## 4A. Prohibited Uses (Ethical Restrictions)
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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:
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### 4A.1 Weapons or Lethal Systems
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The development, operation, support, or optimization of weapons, weapon systems, or systems designed primarily to cause physical injury or death to humans.
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### 4A.2 Lethal, Extrajudicial, or Discriminatory Harm
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Any activity intended to facilitate or materially contribute to:
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- extrajudicial killing;
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- collective punishment;
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- targeting of individuals or groups based on protected characteristics; or
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- treatment of people as threats or “undesirables” outside lawful due process.
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### 4A.3 Mass Surveillance or Population Control
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Mass or bulk surveillance of civilian populations, or systems designed primarily for population control, suppression, or intimidation rather than individualized, lawful investigation.
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### 4A.4 Immigration Enforcement and Removal
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Use of the Licensed Work for immigration enforcement, deportation, detention, or population removal is prohibited where such use is primarily coercive, punitive, discriminatory, or designed for mass identification, profiling, targeting, detention, or expulsion of individuals based on immigration status.
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This prohibition includes use by agencies, programs, or contractors whose primary mandate is large-scale immigration control, population screening, or forced removal, and applies regardless of whether such use is described as civil, administrative, or national-security related.
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#### Lawful Individualized Removal Exception
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Notwithstanding the above, use of the Licensed Work is permitted **solely** to support **individualized, lawful removal actions** where **all** of the following conditions are met:
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a. The removal is based on a final, individualized decision issued by a competent court or tribunal with jurisdiction, following due process and an opportunity to be heard;
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b. The Licensed Work is not used to identify, profile, select, prioritize, or generate targets for removal, but only to support administrative or logistical functions after the decision has been made;
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c. The use involves meaningful human oversight and decision-making at all stages, and does not rely on automated or semi-automated systems to recommend, optimize, or scale removal actions;
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d. The Licensed Work is not used to conduct mass operations, sweeps, raids, predictive enforcement, or population-level screening; and
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e. The use complies with applicable law, oversight, and accountability mechanisms in the jurisdiction in which it occurs.
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Any use that exceeds these conditions, or that materially contributes to mass, automated, or coercive immigration enforcement, constitutes a prohibited use under this License.
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#### Humanitarian Border Assistance Exception
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Use of the Licensed Work is permitted for humanitarian border assistance or life-safety operations, provided that:
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a. The primary purpose is to prevent loss of life or provide emergency assistance, medical aid, shelter, search and rescue, or safe transport;
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b. The Licensed Work is not used to identify, track, profile, detain, deport, or otherwise enforce immigration status;
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c. Any data collected is limited to what is necessary for immediate humanitarian assistance and is not retained, repurposed, or shared for immigration enforcement; and
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d. The use complies with applicable law and oversight in the jurisdiction in which it occurs.
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Humanitarian assistance shall not be deemed valid if it is incidental to, or a pretext for, immigration enforcement activities.
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### 4A.5 Military, Intelligence, or Paramilitary Operations
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Use by or on behalf of armed forces, intelligence agencies, private military contractors, or similar organizations.
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#### Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Exception
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Use by military or governmental entities is permitted **solely** for humanitarian assistance or disaster relief, provided that the Licensed Work is not used for combat, surveillance, targeting, law enforcement, population control, or security enforcement.
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### 4A.6 Human Rights Violations
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Activities that materially contribute to persecution, discrimination, segregation, or deprivation of civil or human rights as recognized under international law.
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### 4A.7 Biological or Environmental Harm
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Systems intended to cause large-scale harm to living organisms or ecosystems.
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#### Ethical Resource Extraction and Environmental Management Exception
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Use is permitted for **lawful, regulated, and necessary resource extraction or environmental management**, provided that:
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- The activity relates to energy, minerals, forestry, water, agriculture, infrastructure, or remediation;
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- It complies with applicable environmental laws or governance frameworks, including those exercised by **First Nations** pursuant to treaty rights, self-government agreements, or First Nations law;
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- Environmental harm is not the primary purpose and is not unnecessary or clearly disproportionate;
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- The Licensed Work is not used for deliberate ecological destruction or irreversible damage beyond what is inherent to the lawful activity.
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### Agriculture and Food Systems Exception
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Use is permitted for lawful agriculture, aquaculture, livestock, veterinary, or food-production purposes, including lawful cultivation, processing, and distribution of cannabis, provided that:
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- The use is regulated and legitimate;
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- The Licensed Work is not used to cause unnecessary suffering or mass extermination;
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- Companion Animals and non-agricultural wildlife are not targeted.
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### 4A.8 Lawful Civilian Law Enforcement (Permitted Use)
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Use by civilian law-enforcement agencies is permitted only where it supports lawful, individualized investigations, is subject to due process, and does not involve population control, mass surveillance, or prohibited purposes.
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### 4A.9 Automated Targeting and Autonomous Harm
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Use of the Licensed Work to develop or operate systems that autonomously or semi-autonomously identify, select, track, or target people for physical harm, detention, coercion, or lethal action is prohibited, regardless of human involvement.
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---
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## 5. Time-Release Provision
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On the Change Date, all commercial and revenue-centered restrictions of this License are permanently removed for the specified version of the Licensed Work.
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After the Change Date:
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- Production Use and Service Offerings are permitted without a Commercial License; and
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- All other terms of this License, including attribution, disclaimers, patent provisions, and **Section 4A ethical restrictions**, remain in full force and effect.
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This time-release applies only to the identified version. New versions may have different Change Dates or licensing terms.
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---
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## 6. Commercial Licensing
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Prior to the Change Date, Production Use, Service Offerings, or redistribution require a Commercial License issued by Maple Open Tech.
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Commercial Licenses may not authorize any use prohibited under Section 4A.
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---
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## 7. Contributions
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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.
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You represent that You have the legal right to grant this license.
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---
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## 8. Patent Grant
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Each contributor grants You a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free patent license to use the Licensed Work as permitted under this License.
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If You initiate patent litigation alleging infringement by the Licensed Work, all rights granted under this License terminate automatically.
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---
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## 9. Acceptance
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By using the Licensed Work, You agree to be bound by this License.
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If You do not agree, do not use the Licensed Work.
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---
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## 10. No Warranty
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THE LICENSED WORK IS PROVIDED **“AS IS”**, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.
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---
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## 11. Limitation of Liability
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To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Licensor’s total aggregate liability shall not exceed **CAD $100**.
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---
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## 12. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
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This License is governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada.
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---
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## 13. No Consumer Offering
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The Licensed Work is intended for professional, developer, academic, and organizational use only.
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---
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## 14. Termination
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This License terminates automatically upon breach.
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**Termination for violation of Section 4A applies both before and after the Change Date.**
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---
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## 15. General Provisions
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If any provision is held unenforceable, the remainder shall remain in effect.
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This License constitutes the entire agreement regarding the Licensed Work.
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---
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## Contact
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- **Licensing:** licensing@mapleopentech.ca
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- **Website:** https://mapleopentech.ca/license
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---
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*Maple Open Tech License (MOTL) v1.0*
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