Public Interest Software License (PISL) v1.0

Preamble

This software is released to serve the public interest. It is intended to be used, modified, and improved by all—individuals, governments, non-profits, and institutions—with the shared goal of advancing knowledge, civic infrastructure, education, equity, and sustainability. This license guarantees freedoms while preventing appropriation and misuse that would undermine public benefit.

1. Grant of Rights

You are granted irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free rights to:

• Use the software for any lawful purpose
• Study and modify the source code
• Distribute original or modified versions

2. Conditions of Use and Distribution

You may distribute the software (original or modified) only if you comply with all the following conditions:

a. Attribution

You must prominently acknowledge the original authors, project name, and this license in any public use or redistribution.

b. Transparency

If you distribute a modified version, you must make the full source code of your version freely available under this same license.

c. Purpose Protection

You may not use the software to enable:

• Surveillance, discrimination, or oppression
• Extraction of rent from public institutions without proportional reinvestment
• Closed-source commercial derivatives

d. Non-Subversion Clause

You may not relicense this software or its derivatives under a more restrictive or proprietary license.

3. Commercial Use

You may use this software for commercial purposes only if:

• Your product or service materially contributes to public benefit, and
• All relevant software components remain open and accessible under this license

Commercial entities may not use this software to:

• Lock users into proprietary ecosystems
• Charge for access to the software itself (you may charge for services)

4. Patent Peace

You agree not to assert any patent claims against users of this software. If you initiate patent litigation against anyone alleging that this software infringes your patents, your rights under this license terminate automatically.

5. Disclaimer of Warranty

This software is provided "as-is", without warranty of any kind. The authors shall not be liable for any damages arising in any way from its use.

6. Governance and Stewardship

This license may be stewarded by a recognized public interest organization that maintains the core principles of openness, justice, and public benefit. Updates to the license must preserve these founding commitments.

Why This License Exists

We believe software developed in the public interest should remain in the public domain—resistant to enclosure, commodification, or manipulation. This license protects that ideal.

Use this license if:

• Your project is funded by public money
• You want your work to remain open forever
• You care about protecting communities from extractive practices
• You believe public infrastructure includes software