Frequently Asked Questions

The FFP (Freedom For People) License is a free and permissive open-source license designed to maximize human freedom by ensuring that software, documentation, art, media, data, and other copyrightable works remain available for anyone to use, study, modify, and share.

The FFP License was created to provide a balanced approach to open licensing that:

• Grants broad permissions for use, modification, and distribution
• Includes patent protection provisions
• Requires attribution and license preservation
• Protects against patent litigation abuse
• Maintains simplicity and clarity

Yes! The FFP License explicitly allows commercial use. You can:

• Use the software in commercial products
• Sell products that include FFP-licensed code
• Offer services based on FFP-licensed works
• Integrate it into proprietary software

No. The FFP License does not require you to disclose or open-source your modifications or derivative works. However, you must:

• Include a copy of the FFP License with any distribution
• Preserve copyright and attribution notices
• Not restrict recipients' rights to the original licensed work

You must:

• Include a copy of the FFP License with your distribution
• Preserve all copyright notices present in the original work
• Preserve all license notices and attribution notices
• Not remove or alter existing attribution

Yes. The FFP License includes an explicit patent license grant from each Contributor. This means contributors grant you the right to use their patents that are necessarily infringed by their contributions to the Work.

If you initiate patent litigation against any entity alleging that the Work or a Contribution constitutes patent infringement, all patent licenses granted to you under the FFP License terminate automatically as of the date such litigation is filed. This is the patent retaliation clause (Section 3.2).

You may add additional terms when distributing, provided those additional terms do not conflict with, restrict, or override the rights granted to recipients under the FFP License. Recipients must always be able to receive the Work under the FFP License as well.

When distributing the Work or Derivative Works, you must:

• Include a copy of the FFP License (Section 4.1)
• Preserve all copyright, license, and attribution notices (Section 4.2)
• Not impose measures that lock down recipients' rights (Section 4.3)

Your license terminates automatically if you:

• Fail to include the license text with distributions (Section 4.1)
• Remove copyright or attribution notices (Section 4.2)
• Lock down recipients' rights (Section 4.3)
• Initiate patent litigation alleging infringement (Section 3.2)

Yes, for most violations (except patent litigation). If you cure your violation, your license is reinstated:

• Provisionally, unless the copyright holder explicitly terminates it
• Permanently, if the copyright holder fails to notify you of the violation within 60 days of cessation

Note: Patent litigation termination (Section 3.2) cannot be reinstated.

Both are permissive licenses, but FFP adds:

• An explicit patent license grant
• Patent retaliation provisions
• More detailed definitions and terms
• Explicit prohibition on "lockdown" of the licensed work

See the full License Comparison page.

Both include patent grants and retaliation clauses. Key differences:

• FFP does not require documenting changes (Apache 2.0 does)
• FFP does not require a NOTICE file
• FFP has a more flexible cure provision for violations

See the full License Comparison page.

Version 2.0 addresses several gaps identified in the v1.0 audit:

• AI/ML Training (Section 4.5): Explicit permission to use the Work as training data for machine learning models.
• Indemnification (Section 11): You agree to hold harmless the Licensor and Contributors from claims arising from Your use.
• Export Controls (Section 12): You are responsible for compliance with applicable export laws.
• Governing Law (Section 17): International default with arbitration preference for dispute resolution.
• Version Upgrade Path (Section 16): The "v2.0 or later" designation is now formally supported.
• Stronger definitions: Legal Entity, Source Form, Object Form, and Effective Date added.
• Contributor warranty (Section 5): Contributors represent they have rights to submit their contributions.
• Broader patent clause: Section 3.2 now covers threats of litigation, not just filed suits.
• Jurisdictional carve-outs: Warranty and liability disclaimers now include minimum-protection fallbacks for jurisdictions that prohibit full exclusion.
• 30-day cure window: Section 8.2 now specifies an explicit cure period for reinstatement.

Yes, in practice. v2.0 is a superset of v1.0 rights — all permissions granted by v1.0 are preserved. However, v2.0 adds new obligations (indemnification, export controls) that users should be aware of. Works already distributed under v1.0 remain under v1.0 unless the Licensor explicitly re-licenses them under v2.0 or "v2.0 or later."

Yes. Section 4.5 of FFP License v2.0 explicitly permits using the Work as training data, fine-tuning data, or evaluation data for machine learning models. Resulting models are Derivative Works only if they reproduce substantial portions of the Work in their outputs.

Section 11 requires You to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Licensor and Contributors from claims arising from:

• Your use or distribution of the Work;
• Your violation of this License;
• Any claim that Your Contribution infringes a third-party IP right; or
• Any negligent act by You in connection with the Work.

This is a standard commercial clause intended to protect upstream contributors.