Licensing and Contributor License Agreement

This document explains the licensing model for proximum and the Contributor License Agreement (CLA) requirements.

Dual Licensing Model

proximum uses a dual licensing model:

1. Open Source License: Apache License 2.0 - always available, free to use
2. Commercial License: Available for organizations that prefer commercial terms

Why Dual Licensing?

Dual licensing allows us to:

• Keep the project open source and free forever
• Fund ongoing development through commercial licenses
• Offer commercial terms for organizations that need them (indemnification, support, etc.)

Our Commitment

• The project will always remain available under an OSI-approved open source license
• Commercial licensing is in addition to, not instead of, the open source license
• Both versions receive the same contributions - no "open core" or feature gating

Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO)

All commits must include a Signed-off-by line:

Signed-off-by: Your Name <your.email@example.com>

Use git commit -s to automatically add this line.

The DCO certifies that you have the right to submit the contribution. The full text is available at developercertificate.org:

Developer Certificate of Origin
Version 1.1

Copyright (C) 2004, 2006 The Linux Foundation and its contributors.

Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this
license document, but changing it is not allowed.


Developer Certificate of Origin
Version 1.1

Copyright (C) 2004, 2006 The Linux Foundation and its contributors.
1 Letterman Drive
Suite D4700
San Francisco, CA, 94129

Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this
license document, but changing it is not allowed.

Developer's Certificate of Origin 1.1

By making a contribution to this project, I certify that:

(a) The contribution was created in whole or in part by me and I
    have the right to submit it under the open source license
    indicated in the file; or

(b) The contribution is based upon previous work that, to the best
    of my knowledge, is covered under an appropriate open source
    license and I have the right under that license to submit that
    work with modifications, whether created in whole or in part
    by me, under the same open source license (unless I am
    permitted to submit under a different license), as indicated
    in the file; or

(c) The contribution was provided directly to me by some other
    person who certified (a), (b) or (c) and I have not modified
    it.

(d) I understand and agree that this project and the contribution
    are public and that a record of the contribution (including all
    personal information I submit with it, including my sign-off) is
    maintained indefinitely and may be redistributed consistent with
    this project or the open source license(s) involved.

Contributor License Agreement (CLA)

First-time contributors must sign our CLA. This is handled automatically by the CLA Assistant bot when you open a pull request.

What the CLA Grants

The CLA grants replikativ the right to:

• Distribute your contributions under Apache-2.0 (the project's open source license)
• Include your contributions in commercially licensed distributions

What You Keep

• You retain copyright to your contributions
• You can use your own contributions in other projects
• Your contributions remain open source under Apache-2.0

CLA Text

The full CLA text is available in the repository:

• Individual CLA
• Corporate CLA (for contributions made on behalf of an employer)

Workflow

1. Fork and branch: Create a feature branch
2. Sign commits: Use git commit -s for every commit
3. Open PR: Submit a pull request
4. Sign CLA: First-time contributors will be prompted by the CLA Assistant bot
5. Review: Maintainers review your changes
6. Merge: Once approved, your contribution is merged

Questions?

• Open an issue for licensing questions
• Email: contact@replikativ.io for commercial licensing inquiries