Maple Open Tech

Maple Open Tech License

Why We Felt Obligated to Create the Maple Open Tech License.

Software, like any other tool, can be used far beyond the original intent of its creators. Tools we build to help make the world better can be used for:

  • automated killing
  • ethnic cleansing
  • mass surveillance
  • racially motivated profiling and injustice
  • environmental destruction
  • weaponized AI and robotics

Traditional open-source licenses are neutral and leave developers with no way to express or enforce ethical boundaries, or to allow them to participate in the financial benefits of their work.

Maple Open Tech believes that freedom to build does not require freedom to harm, or to minimize the value of development.

What MOTL is

The Maple Open Tech License (MOTL) is a time-released, ethical-use license designed to balance:

  • openness
  • sustainability
  • responsibility

This license consists of a two-phase model:

Phase 1 — Protected Use (first 4 years)

  • Source code is visible and auditable
  • Personal, academic, research, and evaluation use is allowed free of charge
  • Commercial and production use requires a license
  • Ethical use restrictions apply

Phase 2 — Open Use (after 4 years)

  • Commercial and production use is fully permitted
  • No revenue-based restrictions remain
  • Ethical use restrictions remain in force indefinitely

This ensures that Maple Open Tech becomes open over time without becoming a tool for harm.

What MOTL is not

  • ❌ It is not an OSI-approved license
  • ❌ It is not MIT, GPL, Apache, or BSD
  • ❌ It does not claim moral authority over users
  • ❌ It does not regulate speech, ideology, or lawful expression

The MOTL is explicit about its limits and does not pretend otherwise.

What MOTL protects against

MOTL permanently prohibits use of Maple Open Tech products and solutions for:

  • weapons and lethal systems
  • extrajudicial killing, persecution or execution
  • mass surveillance
  • population control
  • voter supression
  • ethnic cleansing
  • unethical immigration enforcement
  • unjustified military and intelligence offensive operations
  • autonomous or semi-autonomous systems that are used to kill, injure or harm others
  • misinformation
  • financial fraud, scams
  • misleading AI or synthetic content

These restrictions apply before and after the time-release.

What MOTL explicitly allows

MOTL clearly permits use in:

  • education and research
  • healthcare and accessibility
  • lawful civilian policing (with due process)
  • lawful, ethical immigration enforcement
  • ethical military actions and peacekeeping
  • agriculture, food systems, and cannabis production
  • resource extraction and infrastructure (when lawful and regulated)
  • First Nations–governed activities on their lands
  • disaster relief and humanitarian response
  • non-harmful AI, robotics, and automation

This is not an anti-industry license. It is an anti-abuse, ant-facist license.

Why we chose this model

We do not want to create something that can be freely used to harm others. 

Enterprise Compliance Sanity Check

(For legal, procurement, and risk teams)

Is this open source?

No. MOTL is source-available initially and becomes commercially open after four years, but it includes permanent ethical restrictions.

Is commercial use allowed?

Yes, and in two different phases.
Phase 1 (within 4 years of release): You either meet an exception (individual, researcher, academic institution or non-profit) or you require a paid commercial license.
Phase 2 (automatically after the Change Date): No royalties, no fees.

Are there export controls or jurisdiction traps?

No. The license is governed by Canadian law but does not impose export obligations beyond applicable law.

Are ethical restrictions vague?

No. Prohibited uses are enumerated and outcome-based (e.g. “automated targeting of people for harm”), not ideological. If this is still unclear then remember: DO NOT USE ANY OF OUR PRODUCTS TO ACTIVELY HARM OR KILL ANOTHER HUMAN BEING.

Does this affect internal enterprise use?

Only if the use case involves prohibited activities (weapons, mass surveillance, coercive targeting, etc.). Ordinary IT, analytics, AI, automation, and infrastructure use are unaffected.

Is this compatible with GPL / Debian components?

Yes — as long as MOTL applies only to Maple-authored code and does not attempt to relicense GPL components.

Is there a patent grant?

Yes. MOTL includes a contributor patent license with termination on patent aggression.

Is this license stable?

Yes. v1.0 is intended as a stable baseline, not an experimental draft.

How Maple Linux Relates to Debian

Maple Linux is based on Debian, and Debian remains:

  • GPL-licensed
  • purpose-neutral
  • ethically unrestricted

Maple Linux does not and cannot change Debian’s licensing.

Instead:

  • Debian components retain their original licenses
  • Maple-authored components (tools, branding, installers, services) are licensed under MOTL
  • Ethical commitments apply only to Maple-controlled software and distributions

Think of Maple Linux as:

Debian + Maple stewardship

Debian provides the neutral foundation.
Maple provides apps, defaults, tooling, and values — without rewriting history or licenses.

MOTL – Short FAQ

Is this “ethical fair source”?

It is ethical, but not open source by OSI definition.

Why not just use MIT or GPL?

Neither MIT nor GPL have any ethical restrictions.

Can someone fork the code and remove the ethics?

No. Ethical restrictions apply to the licensed code indefinitely. Forking does not remove license terms. We refuse to build anything that can be used to harm people.

Does this block AI or robotics?

No. It blocks harmful uses, not technologies.

Does this allow for use within policing?

Yes — lawful, civilian policing with due process.
No — violent immigration enforcement, mass surveillance, or population targeting.

Does this allow military disaster relief?

Yes — humanitarian and disaster relief, peacekeeping and ethical defence.

Why do ethics not expire after 4 years?

We are committed to long-term social responsibility.

Will this scare away developers?

Yes! MOTL is designed for users who value responsibility alongside freedom.

Maple Open Tech License (MOTL) Version 1.0

Source-Available · Time-Released · Ethical Use License

Copyright © Maple Open Tech

License Parameters

  • Licensed Work: [SOFTWARE NAME]
  • Version: [VERSION NUMBER]
  • Release Date: [YYYY-MM-DD]
  • Change Date: Four (4) years from the Release Date, or [YYYY-MM-DD]
  • Change Effect: Removal of commercial and revenue-centered restrictions
  • Licensor: Maple Open Tech (https://mapleopentech.ca)

Plain-English Summary (Non-Binding)

Before the Change Date

  • ✅ View, audit, and study the source code
  • ✅ Personal, academic, evaluation, and non-production use
  • ✅ Internal testing and proof-of-concept
  • ✅ Submit contributions
  • ❌ Production or business use without a Commercial License
  • ❌ Hosting or SaaS use without a Commercial License
  • ❌ Competing commercial services

After the Change Date

  • ✅ Production, commercial, and unrestricted use is permitted
  • ⚠️ Ethical restrictions in Section 4A continue to apply

1. Definitions

“Licensed Work” means the software, source code, object code, documentation, and related materials identified above.

“Licensor” means Maple Open Tech.

“You” or “Licensee” means the individual or entity exercising rights under this License.

“Production Use” means use of the Licensed Work in a live or operational environment that provides value to You or to third parties, including business operations, commercial services, or processing real (non-test) data.

“Service Offering” means providing the functionality of the Licensed Work to third parties as a hosted, managed, cloud, or software-as-a-service offering.

“Non-Production Use” means personal, academic, research, evaluation, development, testing, or proof-of-concept use.

“Companion Animals” means animals commonly kept for companionship, assistance, service, or protection, including dogs, cats, and similar domesticated animals, and excludes animals raised primarily for food, fiber, or agricultural production.

2. Grant of Rights

Subject to the terms of this License, the Licensor grants You a limited, worldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to:

  1. Copy, view, and study the Licensed Work;
  2. Modify the Licensed Work for Non-Production Use;
  3. Create derivative works for Non-Production Use;
  4. Submit contributions to the Licensed Work.

Production Use or Service Offerings prior to the Change Date require a separate Commercial License.

3. Permitted Uses Without a Commercial License

The following uses are permitted without a Commercial License:

  • Personal, non-commercial use;
  • Internal evaluation for a reasonable period not exceeding ninety (90) days;
  • Academic teaching or non-commercial research;
  • Use by registered non-profit or charitable organizations for non-commercial purposes;

4. Restrictions

Before the Change Date, You may not:

  1. Use the Licensed Work in Production Use without a Commercial License;
  2. Offer the Licensed Work as a Service Offering without a Commercial License;
  3. Use the Licensed Work to create a competing commercial product or service;
  4. Remove or obscure copyright or proprietary notices;
  5. Use Licensor trademarks without written permission;
  6. Sublicense, sell, rent, lease, or transfer the Licensed Work.

These restrictions apply to modified and derivative works.

4A. Prohibited Uses (Ethical Restrictions)

Notwithstanding any other provision of this License or any Commercial License, You may not use the Licensed Work, directly or indirectly, for any of the following purposes:

4A.1 Weapons or Lethal Systems

The development, operation, support, or optimization of weapons, weapon systems, or systems designed primarily to cause physical injury or death to humans.

4A.2 Lethal, Extrajudicial, or Discriminatory Harm

Any activity intended to facilitate or materially contribute to:

  • the invasion of a sovereign nation
  • extrajudicial killing;
  • collective punishment;
  • targeting of individuals or groups based on protected characteristics; or
  • treatment of people as threats or “undesirables” outside lawful due process.

4A.3 Mass Surveillance or Population Control

Mass or bulk surveillance of civilian populations, or systems designed primarily for population control, suppression, or intimidation rather than individualized, lawful investigation.

4A.4 Immigration Enforcement and Forced Removal

Use of the Licensed Work for immigration enforcement, deportation, detention, or population removal is prohibited where such use is primarily coercive, punitive, discriminatory, or designed for mass identification, profiling, targeting, detention, or expulsion of individuals based on immigration status.

This prohibition includes use by agencies, programs, or contractors whose primary mandate is large-scale immigration control, population screening, or forced removal, without due process or proper ethical considerations.

Lawful Individualized Removal Exception

Notwithstanding the above, use of the Licensed Work is permitted solely to support individualized, lawful removal actions where all of the following conditions are met:

a. The removal is based on a final, individualized human-made decision issued by a competent court or tribunal with jurisdiction, following due process and an opportunity to be heard;  

b. The Licensed Work is not used to identify, profile, select, prioritize, or generate mass targets for removal, but only to support administrative or logistical functions after the decision has been made;  

c. The use involves meaningful human oversight and decision-making at all stages, and does not rely on fully-automated systems to recommend, optimize, or scale removal actions;  

d. The use complies with applicable law, oversight, and accountability mechanisms that are compatible with Canadian law and global human rights standards.

Any use that exceeds these conditions, or that materially contributes to mass, automated harm, constitutes a prohibited use under this License.

Humanitarian Border Assistance Exception

Use of the Licensed Work is permitted for humanitarian border assistance or life-safety operations, provided that the primary purpose is to prevent loss of life or provide emergency assistance, medical aid, shelter, search and rescue, or safe transport;  

Humanitarian assistance shall not be deemed valid if it is incidental to, or a pretext for, immigration enforcement activities.

4A.5 Offensive Military, Intelligence, or Paramilitary Operations

Use by or on behalf of armed forces, intelligence agencies, private military/paramilitary contractors, or similar organizations to invade or destabilize sovereign nations is prohibited.

Self-Defence, Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Exception

Use by military or governmental entities is permitted for self-defence, humanitarian assistance or disaster relief, provided that the Licensed Work is not used for offensive or unjustified combat, surveillance, targeting, law enforcement, population control, or security enforcement.

4A.6 Human Rights Violations

Activities that materially contribute to persecution, discrimination, segregation, or deprivation of civil or human rights as recognized under international law.

4A.7 Biological or Environmental Harm

Systems intended to cause large-scale harm to living organisms or ecosystems.

Ethical Resource Extraction and Environmental Management Exception

Use is permitted for lawful, regulated, and necessary resource extraction or environmental management, provided that:

  • The activity relates to energy, minerals, forestry, water, agriculture, infrastructure, or remediation;
  • It complies with applicable environmental laws or governance frameworks, including those exercised by First Nations pursuant to treaty rights, self-government agreements, or First Nations law;
  • Environmental harm is not the primary purpose and is not unnecessary or clearly disproportionate;
  • The Licensed Work is not used for deliberate ecological destruction or irreversible damage beyond what is inherent to the lawful activity.

Agriculture and Food Systems Exception

Use is permitted for lawful agriculture, aquaculture, livestock, veterinary, or food-production purposes, including lawful cultivation, processing, and distribution of cannabis, provided that:

  • The use is regulated and legitimate;
  • The Licensed Work is not used to cause unnecessary suffering or mass extermination;
  • Companion Animals and non-agricultural wildlife are not targeted.

4A.8 Lawful Civilian Law Enforcement (Permitted Use)

Use by civilian law-enforcement agencies is permitted only where it supports lawful, individualized investigations, is subject to due process, and does not involve population control, mass surveillance, extrajudicial killing or executions, or prohibited purposes.

4A.9 Automated Targeting and Autonomous Harm

Use of the Licensed Work to develop or operate systems that autonomously or semi-autonomously identify, select, track, or target people for physical harm, detention, coercion, or lethal action is prohibited, regardless of human involvement.

5. Time-Release Provision

On the Change Date, all commercial and revenue-centered restrictions of this License are permanently removed for the specified version of the Licensed Work.

After the Change Date:

  • Production Use and Service Offerings are permitted without a Commercial License; and
  • All other terms of this License, including attribution, disclaimers, patent provisions, and Section 4A ethical restrictions, remain in full force and effect.

This time-release applies only to the identified version. New versions may have different Change Dates or licensing terms.

6. Commercial Licensing

Prior to the Change Date, Production Use, Service Offerings, or redistribution require a Commercial License issued by Maple Open Tech.

Commercial Licenses do not allow any use prohibited under Section 4A.

Maple Open Tech may cancel any commercial license or agreement at any time that it feels, at its sole discretion, contravenes any of the prohibited uses under Section 4A.

7. Contributions

By submitting a contribution, You grant the Licensor a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, modify, sublicense, and distribute the contribution under this License.

You represent that You have the legal right to grant this license.

8. Patent Grant

Each contributor grants You a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free patent license to use the Licensed Work as permitted under this License.

If You initiate patent litigation alleging infringement by the Licensed Work, all rights granted under this License terminate automatically.

9. Acceptance

By using the Licensed Work, You agree to be bound by this License.
If You do not agree, do not use the Licensed Work.

10. No Warranty

THE LICENSED WORK IS PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Licensor’s total aggregate liability shall not exceed CAD $100.

12. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

This License is governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada.

13. No Consumer Offering

The Licensed Work is intended for professional, developer, academic, and organizational use only.

14. Termination

This License terminates automatically upon breach.
Termination for violation of Section 4A applies both before and after the Change Date.

15. General Provisions

If any provision is held unenforceable, the remainder shall remain in effect.

This License constitutes the entire agreement regarding the Licensed Work.

Contact

  • Licensing: hello@mapleopentech.ca
  • Website: https://mapleopentech.ca/license

Maple Open Tech License (MOTL) v1.0