The Lambda License

Copyright (c) 2024 Paul Brancieq


# 0. Foreword

The Lambda License is an open license meant to better protect the rights of
software authors. It does not adhere to the usual definition of "Free Open
Source Software" (FOSS), but rather we aim to strike a middle ground between
the freedom of consumers and the protection of the authors' work.

We believe traditional FOSS licenses allow companies or other individuals to
exploit software authors freely by having their work shared in a way they
don't agree with or that is detrimental to their business. This license aims
to give control of artifacts back to the authors and support an open code
community, while still allowing source code to be easily modified and shared.

In short, you may share or modify the source code as you wish, as long as the
work stays under this license, and if you have modified the code, you must:
(a) State your changes if you don't use an SVC like Git
(b) List the original authors (as listed in the copyright at the top of this
license)

When sharing binaries, you must adhere to a few more rules. In particular, you
will need written approval from the original authors. If they don't answer you
after 60 days, they are considered to be implicitly agreeing. Please note that
you have to request in good faith, spam won't be accepted. You will also need
to make the source code available and document where to find it. 

If you are running a modified version of this software on your servers and
users can freely interact with it, you will need to make your source code
public the same way.

The precise terms and conditions can be found below:


# 1. Definitions

1.1. "Source Code": The Source Code is any digital files or tools that are
part of the work covered by this text and/or used in the creation of Binaries,
preferred for making modifications. This does not include any publicly
available tools or libraries. This may include textual or binary digital
files.

1.2. "Binaries": Binaries correspond to any form of the work other than the
Source Code.

1.3. "This License": This License corresponds to the full text of this
document.

1.4. "Copyright Notice": The Copyright Notice corresponds to the second line
of This License, starting with "Copyright (c)".

1.5. "Project Owner": The Project Owners are all physical persons or
legal entities mentioned in the Copyright Notice. They may be referred to by 
an alias.

1.6. "You": "You" corresponds to an individual or a legal entity exercising
rights under this License. For legal entities, "You" includes any entity that
controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with You. For purposes
of this definition, "control" means (a) the power, direct or indirect, to
cause the direction or management of such an entity, whether by contract or
otherwise, or (b) ownership of more than fifty percent (50%) of the
outstanding shares or beneficial ownership of such an entity.


# 2. Using the Source Code

You may copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, and/or sell copies of the
Source Code under the following conditions:

2.1. The Source Code and any derivative work of the Source Code are licensed
under This License.

2.2. You must explicitly state your changes, if any, in a prominent place.
2.2.1. Commit history as provided by source version control software programs
is considered to fulfill 2.2.

2.3. If you modify the Source Code in any way, You must list the original
Project Owners in a prominent place.
2.3.1. Commit history as provided by source version control software programs
is NOT considered to fulfill 2.3.

2.4. You may add your name to the Copyright Notice, but You must not remove
any name from the existing Copyright Notice.


# 3. Using Binaries

You may share, publish, distribute, make derivative work, and/or sell copies
of Binaries, or license the right to do so, under the following conditions:

3.1. The Binaries and any derivative work of the Binaries are licensed under
This License.

3.2. You must make the Source Code used to create the Binaries publicly
available, free of charge.
3.2.1. You must clearly document in the Binaries, and respond to requests
asking how to obtain the aforementioned Source Code.

3.3. You must obtain written approval from all Project Owners to use their
work as mentioned above.
3.3.1. This authorization is free of charge, royalty-free, global,
non-exclusive, revocable and non-transferable.
3.3.1.1. Revocation can be pronounced at any time (known as the "Revocation
Date") by any Project Owner, upon written notification to You.
3.3.1.2. If and when revocation is pronounced, You cannot make use of any
rights under Section 3 for any and all work made after the Revocation Date.
The revocation does not retroactively apply.
3.3.2. The Project Owner may impose any additional clause on their
authorization within the limits provided in 3.3.1.
3.3.2. If a Project Owner fails to reply within 60 calendar days upon
receiving a good-faith request, an irrevocable authorization from that Project
Owner is implicitly granted.
3.3.2.1. A request made within 180 calendar days upon receiving a negative
answer is considered implicitly rejected and does not qualify for 3.3.2.


# 4. Remote network interaction

If you offer users the ability to interact remotely through a computer network
with a Binary created from a modification of the Source Code, you must make
the modified Source Code publicly available, free of charge. You must also
clearly document and respond to requests asking how to obtain the
aforementioned Source Code.


# 5. Disclaimer

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, 
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES, OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF, OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.

If case of a conflict between the Section 0 and any other Section, the latter
Section shall prevail.