Version 1.1 | Effective Date: January 17, 2025
This “Constitutional Copyright License” (“License”) is inspired by the terms of the original U.S. Copyright Act of 1790 and the principle of “limited Times” found in the United States Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clause 8. Its sole purpose is to limit the duration of copyright protection in a Work to match the term provided by the 1790 Act—namely, an initial term of fourteen (14) years from first publication, automatically renewed for an additional fourteen (14) years if the Author is still alive at the end of the initial term.
Important: This License does not grant any rights to use, reproduce, distribute, or modify the Work. Such usage permissions, if any, must be conveyed through a separate license (e.g., a Creative Commons license or a custom license).
By applying this License to a Work, the Licensor disclaims any copyright term that exceeds the 14-year (plus automatic 14-year renewal) period described herein, subject to the conditions set forth below.
The individual person who created the Work and is the initial holder of the copyright. If multiple co-authors exist, each co-author is considered an “Author” with respect to their individual contributions, but the term limitation described herein applies to the Work as a whole.
The person or entity who holds the copyright in the Work and who applies this License to the Work for the purpose of limiting the copyright term to a total of twenty-eight (28) years (14 + 14), as described below.
The original work of authorship to which this License is attached. The Work may be textual, audiovisual, pictorial, graphic, or any other form of copyrightable expression.
The date on which copies or phonorecords of the Work are first distributed or made available to the public under authority of the Author or Licensor.
This License does not grant the Licensee—or any other party— any permission to use, reproduce, adapt, distribute, or display the Work. Any usage rights must be conveyed through a separate agreement or license. The sole function of this License is to limit the duration of copyright protection, as outlined in Section 3 below.
The Licensor hereby disclaims any statutory or common law copyright term that extends beyond fourteen (14) years from the Work’s First Publication Date, unless automatically renewed as described in Section 3.2.
If the Author is still living at the conclusion of the initial fourteen (14) year term, the term automatically renews for another fourteen (14) years. Thus, the maximum term of copyright for the Work under this License is twenty-eight (28) years from the First Publication Date.
Upon expiration of the applicable term—either at fourteen (14) years if the Author has died by then, or at twenty-eight (28) years if automatically renewed— the Work shall enter the public domain. Once in the public domain, no future action by the Author, Licensor, or any other party can restore copyright protection for the Work.
The Licensor asserts that, to the maximum extent permitted by international treaties and the laws of any foreign jurisdiction, this License effectively limits the term of copyright protection in the Work to no more than twenty-eight (28) years from the First Publication Date. Where local laws do not allow a private party to shorten or waive the statutory term of copyright, this License nevertheless serves as the Licensor’s contractual agreement and explicit request that Licensees and other parties honor the 14 (+14) limitation in good faith.
5.1 No Warranties. This License is provided “as is,” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.
5.2 Limitation of Liability. In no event shall the Licensor be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages, however caused, arising out of or in any way related to the enforcement of or reliance on this License, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
If any provision of this License is held to be invalid or unenforceable under any applicable law, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the remaining provisions, which can be given full effect without the invalid provision.
This License represents the complete and exclusive statement of the agreement between the Licensor and any party regarding its subject matter (i.e., the limitation of the copyright term). Any usage license or other agreements remain separate.
To the extent possible under law, the persons who created and/or compiled this License dedicate the text of this License to the public domain worldwide. You may copy, modify, distribute, or use this License text without asking permission.
This dedication applies solely to the text of the License itself. It does not affect the Work to which the License is attached, nor does it grant any usage rights in that Work.