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Contributor License Agreement

Before your first pull request can be merged, you must sign our IP Assignment CLA. This page explains why and what it means.

Why IP Assignment?​

Sigilweaver is built to be a permanent, sustainable alternative to proprietary data science "walled gardens." To guarantee that independence and ensure the project remains viable for the long term, a single entity needs to be capable of offering commercial licenses to enterprises.

However, assigning rights requires trust. Trust is good, but binding legal safeguards are better.

The "Poison Pill" Defense​

This CLA contains a specialized legal structure designed to safeguard the community. It acts as a "Dead Man's Switch" (or Poison Pill) to ensure the project can never be "captured" or closed-sourced by a third party.

The Agreement acts as a two-way street:

  1. You give rights to Sigilweaver Holdings LLC: This allows the project to offer commercial licenses, which funds development and keeps Sigilweaver independent.
  2. Sigilweaver Holdings LLC gives a binding Covenant to you:
    • The project must remain available under an OSI-approved Open Source license.
    • The IP cannot be transferred to a for-profit third party (via sale, hostile takeover, or lawsuit judgment).

The "Teeth" (Reversion Clause):

If the holding company ever violates these terms—or if a third party tries to seize the IP to close it—the IP assignment automatically terminates. Ownership of the code instantly reverts back to the individual contributors.

This ensures that Sigilweaver acts like a community-owned project (similar to Linux) if the commercial entity ever fails its mission.

What This Means in Practice​

  • The project stays open source forever - No one can close the source
  • You can always fork, use, and modify Sigilweaver under the AGPL
  • Development remains funded without relying on donations or sponsorships
  • If the project changes hands, it goes to a nonprofit, not a corporation
  • If anything goes wrong, ownership reverts to contributors

Not Comfortable With This?​

That's completely valid.

If IP assignment doesn't align with your values, you're under no obligation to contribute code. Sigilweaver is AGPL-licensed, which means you can:

  • Fork the project and maintain your own version
  • Use Sigilweaver for any purpose without restriction
  • Report bugs and suggest features without signing anything
  • Write about Sigilweaver, create tutorials, or help others in the community

Contributing code is just one way to participate in open source.

How to Sign​

The CLA will be presented automatically when you open your first pull request. The CLA bot will guide you through the signing process.

If you have questions about the CLA before contributing, please open a discussion.

You can read the full legal text of the agreement at CLA.md.