Version 1.1 – October 2025
Copyright (c) 2025 - Charles R. Portwood II - All rights reserved
PRE-RELEASE NOTICE
This license (CHPL) will take effect upon the first stable major release (v1.0) of Bedrock Voice Chat.
Until that release, Bedrock Voice Chat is source-available for evaluation purposes only. You may view, compile, and test the source code for personal evaluation, but may not use it in production, redistribute it, or create derivative works. All other rights are reserved.
Subject to the conditions below, permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to use, copy, modify, and distribute the Software, provided that the following conditions are met:
1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions, and the following disclaimer.
2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions, and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution, and must comply with the Additional Use Restrictions in Section 2.
3. Neither the name "Bedrock Voice Chat", the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this Software without specific prior written permission.
Certain components, modules, or sub-projects within this Software may be licensed under different terms, including but not limited to the BSD-3-Clause License. Where a component includes its own license file or license header, the terms of that license apply to that specific component and supersede the terms of this License for that component only.
Notwithstanding the rights granted above:
You may not, without a separate commercial license, use the Software to provide, in whole or in part, a hosted, managed, or cloud-based service, whether standalone or embedded within another product or service, where the Software's functionality is made available to third parties.
Except as provided below, you may not, without a separate commercial license, (a) redistribute the Software, or (b) use the Software internally or externally as part of a product, service, or process that directly or indirectly generates revenue.
Redistribution of binaries through digital distribution platforms, app stores, or marketplaces (including but not limited to the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, Microsoft Store, etc.) are not permitted. Direct distribution of binary files remains permitted under this License.
"Commercial Use" does not include use of the Software by:
(a) an individual or sole proprietor, OR (b) an organization with fewer than three (3) full-time equivalents (including employees, contractors, and affiliates),
AND, in either case, only where the total annual gross revenue of the individual, sole proprietor, organization, or any parent, subsidiary, or affiliated entity does not exceed USD $150,000,
provided that the Software is not itself offered as a hosted or managed service.
Use of the Software as part of creative, expressive, or educational works — including but not limited to video content, tutorials, research, teaching, journalism, and artistic works — shall not be considered Commercial Use, regardless of whether such works generate incidental revenue (e.g., advertising or sponsorship).
On the third anniversary of the release date of any stable major version of the Software, that version will automatically and irrevocably be relicensed under the BSD-3-Clause License with the continued restriction that redistribution through digital distribution platforms, app stores, or marketplaces remains prohibited. All other Additional Use Restrictions in Section 2 (Managed Services, Commercial Use) shall no longer apply. This applies only to versions explicitly marked as stable releases (e.g., v1.0, v2.0), not to beta, alpha, release candidate, or patch versions.
For clarity, a "major version" refers to stable releases designated as such by the copyright holder (e.g., v1.0, v2.0), not minor updates, patches, or pre-release builds.
Each contributor to the Software hereby grants to all recipients of the Software a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable (except as stated here) patent license to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell, import, and otherwise transfer the Software, where such license applies only to those patent claims licensable by such contributor that are necessarily infringed by their contribution(s) alone or by combination of their contribution(s) with the Software to which it was contributed.
This License shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of The United States of America, without regard to its conflict of law principles.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
- Free use for individuals, small creators, and small businesses (≤3 people, ≤$150k annual gross revenue, including affiliates).
- Free use for creative, educational, and research projects (even if monetized via ads or sponsorship).
- Commercial license required for enterprises, SaaS/managed services, or revenue-generating products above the cap.
- Distribution through app stores (App Store, Play Store, etc.) is not permitted.
- After 3 years, major stable version automatically flips to BSD-3-Clause (fully open) with
- Patent protection: contributors can't later sue adopters for patent infringement based on their contributions.
- Governing law: disputes are handled under The United States of America.
Q: Is CHPL an OSI-approved open source license? A: No. Because CHPL restricts certain commercial uses, it is "source-available," not OSI-approved open source.
Q: Why would I choose CHPL over MIT/BSD? A: MIT/BSD allows anyone (including large companies) to use your work commercially without giving back. CHPL protects you in the early stages while still being permissive for small creators, educators, and researchers.
Q: Can I use CHPL software in my YouTube videos or tutorials? A: Yes. Creative, expressive, and educational uses are explicitly allowed, even if monetized.
Q: I'm a freelancer making <$150k a year. Can I use it for client work? A: Yes, as long as you remain under the revenue cap and are not offering the software as a managed service.
Q: I want to use CHPL software in my SaaS product. What do I do? A: You must obtain a commercial license from the copyright holder.
Q: Can I distribute this through the App Store or Google Play? A: No. App store distribution requires a separate commercial license. However, you can share binary files (APK, EXE, etc.) directly.
Q: What happens after 3 years? A: That specific version automatically becomes BSD-3-Clause. Future versions may still be under CHPL until their own 3-year period elapses.
Q: What about patents? A: Contributors grant users a license to any patents necessary to use their contributions. This prevents patent trolling and makes the software safer for adoption.
We welcome contributions from the community! To make sure everyone is on the same page, please review the following before submitting a pull request (PR).
This project is licensed under the Clear Horizon Path License (CHPL). By contributing, you agree that your contributions are licensed under CHPL, including the patent grant described in Section 4 of the license.
- You retain the copyright to your contributions.
- By submitting a PR, you grant a license to use your contributions under CHPL, including its patent license.
- This ensures that users of the project are legally protected and can use the software safely.
To avoid ambiguity, please include a Signed-off-by: line in your commits. This certifies that you have the rights to contribute the code and that you are licensing it under CHPL. You can add it automatically with:
git commit -s -m "Your commit message"- Fork the repository.
- Create a new branch for your feature or fix.
- Submit a pull request against the main branch.
- Ensure your PR passes all tests and checks.
By following these steps, you help us keep the project legally safe and open for the community.