About WD-NCL
The whitedragon-dev Non-Commercial License (WD-NCL) is a
carefully crafted license template that balances the freedom to share and
collaborate with the protection of the creator's commercial rights.
It was designed to address a common frustration among developers: the desire
to share their work openly while preventing others from commercially
exploiting it without permission.
Philosophy
The WD-NCL is built on three core philosophical principles:
-
Freedom to Share: Knowledge and software should be
freely available for learning, research, personal use, and collaboration.
The license grants broad permissions for non-commercial use.
-
Protection from Exploitation: Creators should have the
right to decide who profits from their work. The license prevents third
parties from selling or commercially exploiting the software without
permission.
-
Zero Liability: Software is provided as-is, with no
warranties and absolutely no responsibility for the copyright holder.
Users assume all risks.
In One Sentence:
"Free for everyone to use non-commercially – but only the copyright holder can make money from it."
Why Use WD-NCL?
For Project Owners
- Protect Your Work: Prevent others from selling or commercially exploiting your software without your permission.
- Maintain Control: You retain full commercial rights while still sharing freely with the community.
- Zero Liability: You are not responsible for how others use your software.
- Attribution: You receive credit whenever your work is used or shared.
For Users and Contributors
- Free to Use: Use the software for personal, academic, and non-profit purposes at no cost.
- Free to Modify: Modify and improve the software for your own needs.
- Contributions Welcome: Your contributions are welcomed and credited when merged.
- Clear Terms: The license clearly defines what is and isn't allowed.
Comparison to Other Licenses
The WD-NCL sits in a unique position among common license types:
| Aspect |
WD-NCL |
MIT |
GPL |
CC BY-NC |
| Commercial Use |
Owner only |
Allowed |
Allowed |
Banned |
| Attribution Required |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Liability Disclaimer |
Absolute |
Standard |
Standard |
Standard |
| Indemnification |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
| OSI-Approved |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| General Purpose Template |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
Who Should Use WD-NCL?
The WD-NCL is ideal for:
- Individual Developers who want to share their work but keep commercial rights.
- Academic Researchers who want to share code for reproducible research.
- Non-Profit Organizations that share tools and resources.
- Open-Source Projects that want to prevent commercial exploitation.
- Hobbyists and Personal Projects that want to share freely.
Note: This license is not OSI-approved because it restricts commercial use by third parties, which violates the Open Source Definition. This is intentional.