Orpheus Systems Architecture

9. Apache-2.0 license with NOTICE attribution

9. Apache-2.0 license with NOTICE attribution

Date: 2026-10-22

Status

Accepted

Problem

The repository was initially licensed under MIT, which only requires keeping the copyright line. The owner wants authorship and contact details (Orpheus Systems, Kiril Iliev) to travel with every redistribution and derivative work, without deterring enterprise adopters of a public SharePoint repository.

Decision

The repository is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. LICENSE holds the unmodified license text; a root NOTICE file carries the attribution. Under Section 4(d), redistributions and Derivative Works must include a readable copy of the NOTICE attribution. Every package.json declares "license": "Apache-2.0". The visible footer attribution in the SharePoint extensions is appreciated but not required.

What the license requires of a redistribution

flowchart LR
  subgraph REPO["Repository root"]
    LIC["LICENSE<br/>Apache-2.0, unmodified"]
    NOT["NOTICE<br/>Orpheus Systems, author, contact"]
    PKG["Every package.json<br/>license: Apache-2.0"]
  end
  REPO --> USE["Use, modify, build"]
  USE --> RED["Redistribution or<br/>Derivative Work"]
  RED -->|"Section 4(d): required"| KEEP["Readable copy of<br/>the NOTICE attribution"]
  RED -.->|"appreciated, not required"| UI["Visible attribution<br/>footer, About pane, PDF footer"]
  RED -.->|"not required"| SRC["Publishing modifications"]

Considered Options

Option Summary Pros Cons
✅ Apache-2.0 + NOTICE Permissive license with mandatory NOTICE retention Easy enterprise adoption; attribution via NOTICE is mandatory for redistribution; explicit patent grant Does not force publishing modifications or keeping the visible footer
MIT Previous choice Simplest, widely known Keeps only the copyright line; no NOTICE mechanism
AGPL-3.0 with §7(b) attribution + commercial dual license Strong copyleft with additional attribution terms Strongest control over use and attribution; dual-licensing revenue path Deters enterprise adoption; more legal overhead

Consequences

Positive:

Negative / Trade-offs:

Risks: | Risk ID | Description | Impact (E/H/M/L) | Mitigation | |---------|-------------|------------------|------------| | R-LIC-1 | Downstream drops the NOTICE file | M | Section 4(d) makes this a license breach; keep NOTICE at the repo root |