[License-review] ModelGo Zero License, Version 2.0
Moming Duan
duanmoming at gmail.com
Wed Feb 12 13:26:30 UTC 2025
Dear OSI Community,
I am Moming Duan, a researcher at the National University of Singapore and the submitter and license steward of ModelGo Zero License 2.0, which I am submitting for OSI review through this email. The license TEXT file is attached, and below is a brief overview of this license.
License Name: ModelGo Zero License
Version: 2.0
Short Identifier: MG0-2.0
Copyleft: No
Legacy or New: New License
Drafted By Lawyer: Yes, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP
Approved or Used by Projects: No
License URL: https://ids.nus.edu.sg/modelgo-mg0.html
Introduction and Video: https://www.modelgo.li/
Overview:
ModelGo Zero License Version 2.0 (MG0-2.0) is a new license designed for publishing models (typically neural networks like Llama2, DeepSeek). It is one of the variants in the ModelGo License family. MG0-2.0 is the most permissive license in the ModelGo family, requiring only that the original license be provided when distributing the original Licensed Materials or Derivative Materials (Licensed Materials and Derivative Materials are defined in Clause 1.1).
Complies with OSD:
OSD 3 Derived Works — MG0-2.0 Clause 2.1 (a) grants copyright and patent rights to create derivatives.
OSD 5 and OSD 6 — No discrimination clause is included in MG0-2.0.
OSD 9 License Must Not Restrict Other Software — No such restriction is included in MG0-2.0.
The Gap to Fill:
Model sharing is very common on the web, with over 1.4 million models currently listed on Hugging Face (https://huggingface.co/models). However, most of these models are not properly licensed. When publishing their models, developers typically choose from three main options (as seen in the model license tags on the Hugging Face website):
OSS licenses, e.g., Apache-2.0, MIT
Open responsible AI licenses (OpenRAILs), e.g., CreativeML-OpenRAIL-M, OpenRAIL++
Proprietary Licenses, e.g., Llama2, Llama3
However, not all licenses are well-suited for model publishing.
Why not use OSS licenses?
Traditional OSS licenses lack clear definitions regarding machine learning concepts, such as Models, Output, and Derivatives created through knowledge transfer. This ambiguity can result in certain ML activities (e.g., Distillation, Mix-of-Expert) being beyond the control of the model owner.
Why not use OpenRAILs?
Recently, Responsible AI Licenses (https://www.licenses.ai/) have been widely advocated to govern AI technologies, aiming to restrict unlawful and unethical uses of models. While I acknowledge the growing need for such governance, these copyleft-style restrictions do not comply with the OSD and may cause incompatibility with licenses like GPL-3.0. Another concern is that these behavioral restrictions may proliferate within the AI model ecosystem, increasing the risk of license breaches.
Why not use Llama2 or Llama3 Licenses?
These licenses are proprietary licenses that are not reusable. Furthermore, they include exclusive terms such as "You will not use the Llama Materials or any output or results of the Llama Materials to improve any other large language model" and copyleft-style behavioral restrictions.
In fact, the dilemma in current model publishing is the lack of a general-purpose license for model developers. Additionally, since no single license meets diverse model publishing needs, some developers resort to using CC licenses with different elements. However, CC licenses are ill-suited for this purpose as they do not grant patent rights. This motivated the drafting of ModelGo License family, which provides different licensing elements similar to CC but specifically designed for model publishing.
Comparison with Existing OSI-Approved Licenses:
Since I could not find an OSI-approved model license, I can only compare MG0-2.0 with one similar OSS license — Apache-2.0
MG0-2.0 defines licensed materials and derivative works differently from Apache-2.0, tailoring them to models.
MG0-2.0 Clause 2.4 includes provisions regarding model output.
MG0-2.0 Clause 2.2(a) clarifies the ownership of Derivative Materials.
MG0-2.0 Clause 7 specifies the governing law.
MG0-2.0 Annex A includes a Model Sheet to help users choose and understand the license content.
MG0-2.0 can govern the remote access (e.g., chatbot) scenario.
MG0-2.0 does not require retaining attribution or stating modifications when redistributing derivatives.
If further comparisons or supporting evidence are needed to strengthen my claims, please let me know. I am more than willing to engage in further discussions with the OSI community about this license and contribute to promoting standardized model publishing. 🤗
Best,
Moming

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ModelGo Zero License
Version 2.0, Nov 2024
[Notice: Please note that this License is intended solely for the purpose of governing the use,
reproduction, Distribution, modification or creation of derivative works from Licensed
Materials (as defined herein), and should not be used for any other purposes. Licensees that
intend to provide Derivative Materials for use by third parties (such as end users) should
ensure that they put in place a set of suitable terms and conditions to govern their relationship
with such third parties and the use of such Derivative Materials by such third parties.]
By using, reproducing, Distributing, modifying and creating derivative works of the Licensed Materials
(as defined below), You acknowledge and agree that You have read, understood, and agree to be
bound by the terms and conditions of this License. If You do not agree to any terms and/or conditions
of this License, then no rights are granted to You under this License and You shall have no right to
use, reproduce, Distribute, modify or create derivate works from the Licensed Materials.
1. DEFINITIONS
1.1 In this License, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth:
“Intellectual Property Rights” means all inventions, innovations, improvements,
developments, methods, patents, rights to inventions, copyright and related rights, moral rights,
trademarks and service marks, trade names and domain names, rights in industrial designs,
drawings and plans, rights in computer software or source code, database rights, rights in
confidential information (including know-how and trade secrets) and any other intellectual
property rights, in each case whether registrable, registered or unregistered and including all
applications (or rights to apply) for, and renewals or extensions of, such rights and all similar or
equivalent rights or forms of protection which subsist or will subsist now or in the future in any
part of the world.
“Complementary Materials” means the source code and scripts used to define, run, load,
benchmark and/or evaluate the Model, and prepare data for the purpose of training, pretraining,
fine-tuning and/or evaluation of the Model, and any tutorials, operating manuals, user guides
and/or documentation that guide users in using, operating, implementing and/or customising
the Model.
"Derivative Materials" means all improvements, modifications or derivative works to the
Licensed Material or any part thereof, which are created or developed by You (either by
Yourself or jointly with other third parties), including any new model developed by transferring
patterns of weights, parameters, activations and/or Output from the Model, such as through
distillation methods or synthetic data generation techniques.
“Distribution” (or “Distribute”) means any transmission, publication, public performance,
communication, sharing and other methods of distribution of the Licensed Materials, Derivative
Materials and/or Output (as applicable), including provision of the Licensed Materials or any
part thereof as a hosted service, which can be accessible through electronic or other remote
means, including but not limited to API-based access or web access.
“License” means the terms and conditions for use, reproduction and distribution as set out in
[Sections 1 to 8 and the annexes] of this License.
“Licensed Materials” means, collectively, the Model and/or Complementary Materials
Distributed made available by the Licensor under this License. For avoidance of doubt, the
Licensed Materials do not include any data used for the purpose of training, pretraining and/or
evaluating the Model.
“Model” means the machine-learning constructs and/or assemblies licensed by the Licensor
under this License, including any checkpoints, learned weights, parameters (including optimizer
states) and the model architecture (if applicable).
“Licensor” means the rights owner or entity authorised by the rights owner that is granting the
License.
“Output” means any informational content (including any image, text, text effect, audio file
and/or video file) generated through operation of the Model and/or any new model developed
by transferring patterns of weights, parameters, activations and/or Output from the Model.
“Open-Source Software” means any computer program owned by a third party and distributed
under a license approved by the Open-Source Initiative.
"You" (or "Your") means you, or any other person or entity (if you are entering into this license
on behalf of such person or entity and provided you have the legal authority to bind such
person or entity).
2. LICENSE RIGHTS
2.1 Grant of Rights to Licensed Materials
(a) Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, the Licensor hereby grants to You a
non-exclusive, non-transferable, sublicensable, irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide right
and license (including the relevant copyrights and patent rights) to:
(i) use, reproduce and Distribute the Licensed Materials; and
(ii) use the Licensed Materials to create Derivative Materials.
2.2 Grant of Rights to Derivative Materials
(a) Subject to Your compliance with all Your obligations under this License and without
prejudice to any other terms under this License, all rights (including Intellectual Property
Rights) in any Derivative Materials shall automatically vest in and be owned by You.
2.3 Restrictive Covenants
(a) You shall use, reproduce, Distribute, modify and create derivative works of the Licensed
Materials, Derivative Materials (where authorised under this License) and/or Output
(where authorised under this License) in compliance with:
(i) all applicable laws.
(b) If You Distribute any of the Licensed Materials and/or Derivative Materials (where
authorised to under this License) to a third party, You shall:
(i) provide a copy of this License to such third party.
2.4 Output
(a) You acknowledge and agree that You shall be solely responsible for reviewing the
Output before using or relying on it, and for any breaches or violations of laws arising
from Your use of the Output.
(b) You may Distribute the Output to third parties provided that You indicate as part of the
Distribution that any Output generated through the use of the Licensed Materials and/or
Derivative Materials may contain AI-generated content. For the avoidance of doubt, the
foregoing shall not constitute or be construed as any statement, representation or
warranty by the Licensor that there are or will be rights (including Intellectual Property
Rights) capable of subsisting in and to any Output.
2.5 Reservation of Rights
(a) Nothing in this License shall be construed to be an assignment or transfer of the
Intellectual Property Rights in the Licensed Materials to You. Other than the limited
license and use rights to the Licensed Materials provided under this License, no other
right or license is granted by the Licensor to You, either express or implied, with respect
to any other trademark, trade name, service mark, databases, database rights or other
Intellectual Property Rights owned, possessed or licensed by or to the Licensor.
(b) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, You shall not refer to the Licensor or
use the Licensor’s trademarks, trade names, and service marks, for any publicity,
advertising or marketing purposes, without the Licensor’s prior written consent.
3. DISCLAIMER
3.1 To the maximum extent permissible under applicable law, except as expressly and specifically
provided in this License, the Licensed Materials are provided on an “as is” and “as available”
basis without any representation, warranty, condition, or term of any kind (whether express,
implied, statutory or otherwise), which are expressly disclaimed by the Licensor.
3.2 Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the Licensor expressly disclaims all
representations, warranties and undertakings of any kind in relation to the Licensed Materials,
Derivative Materials and/or Output, including without limitation to their merchantability,
satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement of third-party rights
(including Intellectual Property Rights), accuracy, correctness, absence of error, reliability,
timeliness, non-infringement of or compliance with any laws, regulations and/or third-party
rights.
3.3 You are solely responsible for determining the appropriateness of using, reproducing,
Distributing, modifying and creating derivative works of the Licensed Materials and assume any
risks associated with use of the Licensed Materials, Derivative Materials and/or Output.
4. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
4.1 To the maximum extent permissible under applicable law, in no event shall the Licensor be
liable to You or any other persons for:
(a) any lost profits, revenue or anticipated savings;
(b) any loss of goodwill or damage to reputation;
(c) any loss or corruption of data (including costs to recover the data); or
(d) any incidental, indirect, special, exemplary, punitive, multiple or consequential damages,
in any way arising out of or in connection with the Licensed Materials, Derivative Materials
and/or Output (including Your use, reproduction, Distribution, modification or creation of
derivate works from the Licensed Materials and/or Derivate Materials), whether on an action or
claim in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise, even if the
Licensor had been informed or advised of the possibility thereof.
5. TERM AND TERMINATION
5.1 The term of this License will commence upon Your use, reproduction, Distribution, modification
and creation of derivative works of the Licensed Materials and will continue in full force and
effect until terminated in accordance with the terms and conditions under this License.
5.2 The Licensor may terminate this License if:
(a) You are in breach of any term and/or condition of this License; and/or
(b) You commence any legal action against the Licensor alleging that the Licensed Materials
and/or Derivative Materials infringe any Intellectual Property Rights in the world.
5.3 Upon termination of this License, You shall delete and cease use of the Licensed Materials and
Derivative Materials (where applicable). Sections 3, 4 and 7 shall survive the termination of this
License.
6. THIRD-PARTY MATERIALS
6.1 You acknowledge and agree that the Licensed Materials may use or embody rights (including
Intellectual Property Rights) of third parties (“Third-Party Materials”), including Open-Source
Software and other free-content works.
6.2 Without prejudice to the foregoing, You acknowledge and agree that:
(a) the Licensor shall not have any obligation to review any Third-Party Materials, and shall
not be responsible for such Third-Party Materials, including their accuracy, completeness,
timeliness, currency, validity, copyright compliance, legality, decency quality or any other
aspect thereof;
(b) the Licensor is not a party to any arrangement, transaction or contractual relationship
between You and any third party in respect of the Third-Party Materials; and
(c) the Licensor makes no representations or warranties whatsoever, and shall not be liable
for any damage, liabilities, losses (including any loss of data or profits), or any other
consequences that You may incur arising out of or in relation to Your use of Third-Party
Materials.
7. GOVERNING LAW AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION
7.1 Any legal action or proceeding arising out of or in connection with this License may be initiated
only in the courts of the jurisdiction where the Licensor resides or conducts its primary business,
and this License will be governed by the laws of that jurisdiction, excluding its conflict-of-law
rules.
8. MODIFICATION OF THIS LICENSE
8.1 This License is Copyright © 2024 National University of Singapore. Permission is granted to
copy, distribute, or communicate this License without modification. Nothing in this License
permits You to modify this License as applied to the Licensed Materials or to Derivative
Materials. However, You may modify the text of this License and copy, distribute or
communicate Your modified version and apply it to other original works of authorship, provided
that You furnish a readable notice describing Your modifications to this license.
Annex A
Model Sheet
+--------------+--------------------------------------------------+---+
| | Use, Reproduce and Distribute Licensed Materials | ✓ |
| +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| | Create Derivative Materials | ✓ |
| +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| Grant of | Sub-License Licensed Materials | ✓ |
| Rights to +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| Licensed | Revocable License to Licensed Materials | ✗ |
| Materials +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| | Ownership of Derivative Materials with Licensor | ✗ |
| +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| | Commercial Use of Licensed Materials | ✓ |
+--------------+--------------------------------------------------+---+
| | Use and Reproduce Derivative Materials | ✓ |
| +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| | Distribute Derivative Materials | ✓ |
| +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| Grant of | Sub-License Derivative Materials | ✓ |
| Rights to +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| Derivative | Revocable License to Derivative Materials | ✗ |
| Materials +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| | Ownership of Derivative Materials with Licensee | ✓ |
| +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| | Commercial Use of Derivative Materials | ✓ |
+--------------+--------------------------------------------------+---+
| Grant of | Right to Distribute Output if Indicate Notice of | ✓ |
| Rights to | AI-Generated Content | |
| Output +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| | Commercial Use of Output | ✓ |
+--------------+--------------------------------------------------+---+
| Responsible | Use Restrictions (RAI) on Licensed Materials, | ✗ |
| AI | Derivative Materials and Output | |
+--------------+--------------------------------------------------+---+
| | Provide a Copy of Original License | ✓ |
| +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| | Retain Original Attribution Notice when | ✗ |
| | Distributing Licensed Materials | |
| +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| | Retain Original Attribution Notice when | ✗ |
| | Distributing Derivative Materials | |
| Requirements +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| relating to | Indicate Modifications when Distributing | ✗ |
| Distribution | Derivative Materials | |
| of Licensed +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| Materials | Require Third Party Recipients to Comply with | |
| and/or | Use Restrictions (RAI) on Distributed Licensed | ✗ |
| Derivative | Materials, Derivative Materials and Output | |
| Materials +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| | Disclosure of Distributed Licensed Materials | ✗ |
| | and/or Derivative Materials in Source Code Form | |
| +--------------------------------------------------+---+
| | Licensing Distributed Derivative Materials | ✗ |
| | on Same Terms as License | |
+--------------+--------------------------------------------------+---+
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