Cross license collaboratives are co-op-like networks of contributors to online projects that can…
- change the license terms for their projects democratically, without getting permission from every contributor
- gift or sell commercial licenses and other licenses, sharing proceeds equally
- welcome new contributors from all over the world
…all without the overhead of a company, foundation, or other legal organization.
Contributors can start a collaborative for their project by adopting a new kind of plain-language contributor license agreement. You can read the latest version online or browse other formats and versions.
Unlike other contributor license agreements, the cross license collaborative agreement is decentralized and peer-to-peer. No single contributor or organization gets any special licensing powers. Rather, every contributor licenses every other contributor, subject to rules about how new licensing decisions will be made.
Visual learners might prefer an illustrated comparison of cross license collaboratives to other ways projects handle IP rights.