The Usufruct License (UFL) — Version 2.2 Canonical text, whitepaper, and FAQ: https://github.com/estejosh/UFL-Usufruct-License Copyright (c) 2026 Joshua D. Hale Operational Scope: Seat-Limited — 2 seats, 2 computers, 2 mobile devices free in production ## 1. Grant of Use Subject to the terms below and the Operational Scope declared above, the Licensor grants anyone the free, perpetual, worldwide right to use the Software — in source or compiled form, at any scale — without payment or a separate license beyond what Section 1A requires. This includes running the Software, deploying it, integrating with it through its published interfaces, and operating a product or service built on top of it, as scoped by Section 1A. ## 1A. Operational Scope The Operational Scope declared above states the only limit, if any, on Section 1's grant. Exactly one scope applies to this Software: Seat-Limited — Section 1's grant is unconditional for non-production use. Production use is free up to 2 seats, 2 computers, 2 mobile devices; production use beyond that threshold requires a paid, separate written license from the Licensor. ## 2. Reserved Rights The following rights are reserved to the Licensor and are NOT granted by Section 1. They require a separate written license from the Licensor, except as Section 2A permits: (a) Distributing the Software, or any modified version, fork, or substantially similar reimplementation of it, to any third party, in source or compiled form. (b) Incorporating the Software's source code into another product or service that is distributed, sold, or otherwise made available to third parties. (c) Using the Licensor's name, marks, or claims of compatibility ("Ferryman-compatible," "built on Ferryman," etc.) in connection with a distributed derivative. ## 2A. Forks of Decentralized or Network Software If the Software is designed to run as a node, client, or peer in a decentralized network, blockchain, or similar peer-to-peer protocol, Section 2(a) does not require a separate license for distributing a modified version, fork, or independent reimplementation of it — including to operate a competing network — provided the distributed work: (i) prominently and accurately credits Ferryman as the origin of the Software or protocol, in its README, whitepaper, or equivalent primary documentation; and (ii) keeps the canonical-source notice required by Section 7 intact. Distributing a fork that removes, obscures, or falsifies this attribution is not permitted under this exception and still requires a separate license under Section 2(a). This section does not affect Sections 2(b) or 2(c): incorporating the Software into another distributed product, and using the Licensor's name or marks to claim compatibility, still require a separate license regardless of attribution. ## 2B. Reproducing This License Text The text of this license — this document itself, independent of any particular copy's Operational Scope, copyright holder, or project name — may be freely copied and reproduced by anyone to license their own software, including verbatim reproduction in a project's own LICENSE file. This permission is not limited by Section 2(a) and applies regardless of Operational Scope: licensing your own software under this text is not "distributing the Software" of any other project that also uses it, and requires no separate permission from any Licensor who has used it. This section grants no right to any particular Licensor's Software — only to the legal text of this license itself. ## 2C. Version Fidelity The permission granted by Section 2B is a permission to reproduce, not to modify. A copy of this text is adopted as-is: the only blanks a Licensor may fill in are the copyright year, the copyright holder, and the project name given near the top of this text, and the only choice a Licensor may make is which single Operational Scope in Section 1A applies, stated exactly as the canonical text provides for that scope. Beyond those fills, no wording in Sections 1 through 7 of this license, including this section, may be added to, removed, or altered in any copy that is presented, cited, or identified as "the Usufruct License," "UFL," or by any `LicenseRef-UFL-*` identifier. A project that needs different terms is free to write its own license, including one derived from this text under its own name — it is not free to alter this text and continue to call the result UFL. Anyone may propose a change for a future version at the canonical source named in Section 7. An adopted proposal becomes a new official version, never a retroactive edit: once a version of this license is published, its text is not changed, and a project that wants a later version's provisions adopts that version's text in full. ## 3. Why "Usufruct" In civil law, a usufruct is the right to use property belonging to another and enjoy its benefits, without the right to alter its substance or transfer ownership to someone else. This license grants exactly that: full use, no transfer. ## 4. Contributions Contributions submitted to a Software repository under this license are accepted under these same terms and are granted back to the Licensor to the extent necessary to keep this license enforceable across the combined work. ## 5. No Warranty 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 LICENSOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES, OR OTHER LIABILITY ARISING FROM THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. ## 6. Note on Classification This is a source-available license, not an OSI-approved open source license. The Open Source Definition requires unrestricted redistribution rights, which Section 2 intentionally withholds regardless of Operational Scope. Some Operational Scopes under Section 1A also withhold uses the Open Source Definition requires to be unrestricted. The source is public; which uses are free depends on the Operational Scope declared above. ## 7. Notice The canonical-source line at the top of this license text (or an equivalent pointer to https://github.com/estejosh/UFL-Usufruct-License) must be kept intact when this license text is copied into another project. This is a notice requirement on the license text itself, not an additional condition on using the Software beyond Section 1A. --- SPDX identifier: UFL is not on the official SPDX license list. Per SPDX convention for licenses outside that list, use `LicenseRef-UFL-2.2-S` — not a bare `UFL-2.2-S`, which would misrepresent it as SPDX-registered.