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The Mutualist License
Download v1.3
Versions 4 current v1.3 Read v1.3 ›

Versions

v1.3 is the current release, and the one to adopt for a new project. Every version keeps a permanent page and a permanent file, so a citation to an old version still resolves. A version counts as official once its text is published at the license's home, which is this site. That is what lets a Short ID without -only move forward.

Each card below lists what its version changed from the one before it. Those notes are the site's plain English, not license text.

v1.3

Current

The Mutualist License v1.3

The current release. It moves the license to its own home at mutualist.dev, lets the Short ID state the upgrade rule on its own, and moves the plain English commentary out of the file and into the gloss layer.

Changes from v1.2

  • The license moved to its own home at mutualist.dev. The copyright line, the Notice link, and the issue tracker all point there now.
  • The Short ID now states the upgrade rule on its own. A plain ID and an explicit -or-later both allow upgrades, and -only locks the version. The parenthetical that explains this can stay or go.
  • The copying terms let you complete the Credit block and the Short ID, and let you change the formatting. Neither counts as a change to the terms.
  • The network duty now covers software based on this license, not only modified copies. When you share a copy that people install and run themselves, you must offer the MutuaL-licensed source code and any changes you made. This covers an application you built with the software inside it.
  • Redemption asks more of a notice. It must come from a copyright holder, name the broken rule and the affected copies, and warn of the 30-day deadline. An inaccurate notice starts no clock. Once you fix a mistake, no one can use that same mistake to start another Redemption period.
  • Foresight counts only official releases at the license’s home, and it refuses a later version that adds restrictions. Code marked -only combines only with its own version.
  • Innovation reaches patents that a contributor owns or controls. This includes patents held by an entity they control, and patents they arrange, fund, or encourage someone else to use.
  • The plain English commentary left the file. Each clause now carries its explanation in the gloss layer beside it, where no reader mistakes it for binding text.
  • Clarity defines four more terms: we, copyright holder, infringe, and official release. Configuration now includes optional build features and build-time flags.
  • Non-Liability names the copyright holders, contributors, and distributors as the parties that make no promises and carry no liability.
Short ID
MutuaL-1.3
Clauses
15
Size
25,123 bytes
Updated
2026-10-05
Read v1.3 Download v1.3 Plain English reading available

v1.2

Superseded

The Mutualist License v1.2

Strengthened the network rule and confirmed that configuration is not modification.

Changes from v1.1

  • The Acceptance clause gained a shorthand: bold “use” now stands for use, run, study, copy, change, share, or sell.
  • The network rule changed. Straight hosting of an unchanged copy still needs no source code. A hidden component of your own product, or a service that depends on the software for core functionality, must offer it.
  • The patent section got headings and a step-by-step defense exception. It lists what does not count as a patent attack, and it keeps a plain English summary inside the file.
  • Redemption now requires a notice to name the broken rule. Clarity defined core functionality and immediate family, added the conditions for a contractor to count as part of your entity, and settled that configuration is not modification.
Short ID
MutuaL-1.2
Clauses
15
Size
23,603 bytes
Replaced on
2026-09-14
Read v1.2 Download v1.2

v1.1

Superseded

The Mutualist License v1.1

A plainer wording pass over the whole text, plus the first network duty for services that rely on the software.

Changes from v1

  • Every clause got a plain-language pass, and the fifteen sections kept their jobs.
  • A service that relies on this software to work must now offer source code to its users, even when they never touch the software directly.
  • Holism became a normal clause, and Foresight no longer said that new versions keep the same Purpose.
Short ID
MutuaL-1.1
Clauses
15
Size
18,977 bytes
Replaced on
2026-03-21
Read v1.1 Download v1.1

v1

Superseded

The Mutualist License v1

The first published version.

The first release

  • It set the fifteen-clause shape and the flipped-form voice that every later version keeps.
  • It introduced the Short ID, where a plain ID allows upgrades and -only locks the version.
  • It named Codeberg as the license’s home.
Short ID
MutuaL-1
Clauses
15
Size
20,656 bytes
Replaced on
2026-03-21
Read v1 Download v1