an open form contract supplementing open software licenses with enterprise-ready terms

Download the most recent release from GitHub, or read the current development version of the terms in Markdown format.

This is a flipped form in plain English. If something doesn't make sense to you, that's the form's fault, not yours. Please open an issue so we can fix it.

Contracts are prescription-strength legal devices. If you need terms for a deal, don't be a doofus. Hire a lawyer. A good one will ask good questions. They may decide this form fits your needs.

Do not put confidential information about you, your work, or your clients in issues or pull requests. Do not ask for legal advice on GitHub, or try to disguise requests for legal advice as general questions or hypotheticals. You don't want advice from anybody dumb enough to fall for that.

These terms bridge the gap between typical open software license terms and the terms large companies expect for software they rely on, without requiring the developer to perform any additional services. We can put those gaps in two categories:

• The developer has the rights to license the software.

• The developer will maintain public contributor licensing records.

• The software's dependencies are all open software.

• There are no license compatibility issues.

• There is and won't be any malware in the software.

• The developer isn't aware of any patent issues.

• The developer is aware of some basic intellectual property law traps, like work made for hire and intellectual property assignments.

• If the public license for the software doesn't give an explicit patent license, the developer gives a supplemental patent license.

• If the company breaks any rules of the public license for the software, the developer agrees to let the company keep its license if it addresses the problem promptly.