Governance & Law · Quest

AMPL 1.0 — Adapted Modular Public License

MPL 2.0 with one parallel extension: the same network clause that AGPL added to GPL, applied at the file level — so sovereign open-source can stay open even when it ships as a service.

Stage: Ready to harvest Parent: open governance EvoBioSys network

The seed

Most permissive licenses let anyone take open code, wrap it in a hosted service, and give nothing back. The GNU project answered this for GPL with the AGPL network clause: if you run modified code as a network service, you must release your modifications. But AGPL is whole-program copyleft — too coarse for the modular, file-mixing reality of modern software.

AMPL 1.0 takes the Mozilla Public License 2.0 — already file-scoped copyleft, already battle-tested, already compatible with permissive ecosystems — and adds one parallel extension: the network-use trigger, but applied per file rather than per program. You keep MPL's clean boundary between covered and combined work, and you close the SaaS loophole exactly where it matters.

Why it matters

Sovereign European infrastructure needs a license that survives commercialization without becoming captured. The Firefox and Elasticsearch stories show the model: a strong copyleft core, a permissive (Apache 2.0) commons around it for community extensions. AMPL formalizes that pattern as a reusable, drafted instrument — so each new EvoBioSys holon doesn't have to reinvent its licensing posture from scratch.

  • Core work ships under AMPL 1.0 — file-scoped copyleft with the network clause.
  • Community extensions ship under Apache 2.0 — frictionless adoption.
  • The boundary is the file, not the program — predictable for contributors and integrators alike.

What building it out looks like

  • Draft AMPL 1.0 as a clean diff against MPL 2.0 — the smallest possible delta, one clause.
  • Seek review from the ISC Foundation and EUPL drafters for legal soundness and EU-jurisdiction fit.
  • Publish license text, a plain-language FAQ, and a compatibility matrix (GPL/AGPL/Apache/MIT).
  • Apply it to a first EvoBioSys holon as the reference adopter.

Status

Ready to harvest. AMPL 1.0 is not a proposal — it already exists and is the license in use across EvoBioSys work. There is nothing to build here; it is ready to be adopted as-is. Read the full text and the EvoBioSys addendum: