The KERI Foundation’s Intellectual Property Policy is designed to protect the rights of contributors while ensuring that the community benefits from open, accessible, and innovative technologies. By adhering to this policy, we can foster a collaborative environment that advances the development of decentralized identity technologies for the benefit of all.
Introduction
The KERI Foundation is committed to fostering innovation and collaboration in the development of a decentralized infrastructure for identifier technologies. This Intellectual Property Policy (IPP) is designed to protect the rights of all contributors while ensuring that the community benefits from open and accessible code, specifications, and documentation.
Our goal is to create a transparent, fair, and inclusive environment that encourages contribution and participation.
1. Purpose
This policy outlines the principles governing the ownership, licensing, and use of intellectual property (IP) within the KERI Foundation. It aims to:
- Encourage and protect open-source contributions.
- Ensure that all contributions are appropriately licensed.
- Clarify the rights and responsibilities of contributors, maintainers, and users.
2. Types of Intellectual Property
The KERI Foundation recognizes and protects the following types of intellectual property:
- Copyright: Protection for original works of authorship, including software code, documentation, and other content.
- Trademarks: Protection for brand names, logos, and other identifiers associated with the KERI Foundation and its projects.
- Patents: Protection for inventions, including methods, processes, and technologies that may be developed within the scope of the KERI Foundation’s activities.
- Code: Protection for software code, including ownership, licensing, and contribution rights to ensure security, innovation, and alignment with open standards.
3. Contribution and Licensing
3.1. Contributor License Agreement (CLA)
- All contributors must sign a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) before their contributions can be accepted into any KERI Foundation project. The CLA ensures that contributors grant the necessary rights to their contributions while retaining their ownership.
3.2. Licensing of Contributions
- Open Source Licensing: All software contributions to KERI Foundation projects must be made under the Apache License 2.0. This license ensures that the software remains open and accessible while providing contributors with clear terms regarding their rights and responsibilities.
- Documentation and Other Contributions: Non-software contributions, such as documentation, should be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0) or a similar open content license.
4. Trademarks
- Use of the KERI Foundation’s trademarks must be approved by the Foundation and must comply with the Foundation’s trademark usage guidelines. Unauthorized use of the Foundation’s trademarks is strictly prohibited.
5. Patents
5.1. Patent Non-Assertion
- The KERI Foundation encourages a patent non-assertion policy. Contributors and participants are encouraged not to assert patent claims against KERI Foundation projects and users for the use, sale, or distribution of software developed by the Foundation.
5.2. Patent Grants
- If a contributor has or later acquires patent rights that may be infringed by the use or implementation of their contribution, the contributor agrees to grant a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable license to such patent rights to the KERI Foundation and its users.
6. Ownership and Attribution
- Ownership: Contributors retain ownership of their contributions but must grant the KERI Foundation the necessary rights to use, modify, and distribute those contributions under the terms of the applicable license.
- Attribution: The KERI Foundation values and respects the work of its contributors. All contributions will be attributed to the original author(s) in a manner consistent with the project’s practices.
7. Third-Party Contributions
- Contributions that include third-party intellectual property must be clearly identified and must have the appropriate permissions and licenses in place. Contributors are responsible for ensuring that their contributions do not infringe on others’ IP rights.
8. Dispute Resolution
- The KERI Foundation is committed to resolving intellectual property disputes in a fair and transparent manner. Any disputes related to intellectual property will be handled by the Foundation’s legal team and, if necessary, escalated to mediation or arbitration.
9. Compliance
- All participants in KERI Foundation projects must comply with this Intellectual Property Policy. Violations of this policy may result in the rejection of contributions, removal from the project, or other actions deemed necessary by the Foundation.
10. Amendments
- The KERI Foundation reserves the right to amend this Intellectual Property Policy as needed to address evolving legal, technological, and community considerations. Any changes to this policy will be communicated to the community in a timely manner.