Luxoria - License Justification
Last Modification : 22/06/2025
1. Introduction
Luxoria is committed to open-source development, fostering innovation, and enabling collaboration within the developer community. After careful consideration, we have chosen the Apache License 2.0 for our repositories due to its balance of permissiveness, protection, and clarity.
2. Key Reasons for Choosing Apache 2.0
2.1. Permissive and Business-Friendly
Apache 2.0 is a permissive open-source license that allows anyone to freely use, modify, and distribute our code. This means individuals and businesses can adopt Luxoria's technologies without worrying about restrictive obligations, making it easier for our software to be widely used and integrated.
2.2. Patent Protection
A major advantage of Apache 2.0 over some other permissive licenses (such as MIT or BSD) is its explicit grant of patent rights. Contributors automatically grant a license to any patents they hold related to their contributions, which reduces the risk of patent litigation and provides more legal certainty for users of our software.
2.3. Contributor and User Protection
By using Apache 2.0, we ensure that both contributors and users are protected from unexpected legal complications. The license includes:
A patent grant ensuring that contributors cannot later sue users for patent infringement based on their contributions.
A liability disclaimer, protecting both Luxoria and contributors from legal claims arising from the use of the software.
2.4. Encourages Open-Source Contributions
Since Apache 2.0 does not impose copyleft requirements (unlike the GPL), developers and businesses can confidently contribute to Luxoria's repositories without concerns about needing to open-source their proprietary software that incorporates our code.
2.5. Well-Recognized and Widely Used
Apache 2.0 is a widely adopted and trusted license in the open-source community. Many large-scale projects, such as Kubernetes, TensorFlow, and Apache Software Foundation projects, use this license, which ensures familiarity and trust among developers and businesses.
3. Comparison with Other Open-Source Licenses
Choosing the right open-source license is crucial for defining how a project can be used and shared. Here’s a quick comparison of Apache 2.0 with other common open-source licenses:
Apache 2.0
Permissive
Yes
No
Strong legal protection, business-friendly
MIT
Permissive
No
No
Simple and permissive, but lacks patent protection
BSD (3-Clause)
Permissive
No
No
Similar to MIT, with an added clause preventing use of the project’s name
GPLv3
Copyleft
Yes
Yes
Requires derivative works to be open-source, limiting proprietary use
LGPLv3
Weak Copyleft
Yes
Partial
Less restrictive than GPL, but still requires some source disclosure
4. Conclusion
The Apache License 2.0 aligns with Luxoria’s goals of fostering innovation, collaboration, and broad adoption of our open-source software. Its permissiveness, strong patent protections, and business-friendly terms make it the ideal choice for our repositories.
By choosing Apache 2.0, we empower developers while ensuring that both contributors and users benefit from a legally sound and transparent licensing framework.
5. Alignment with Luxoria’s Long-Term Strategy
Luxoria aims to become a modular and extensible platform, enabling a community of users, contributors, and partners to evolve alongside the project. The use of a permissive license like Apache 2.0 facilitates:
Integration into proprietary or commercial products.
Collaboration with companies that may not wish to open-source their enhancements.
Development of an ecosystem around the project, including plugins, modules, and third-party services.
6. Legal Clarity and International Applicability
Apache 2.0 is internationally recognized and offers substantial legal clarity, notably through:
Explicit and detailed wording that is understandable to legal teams.
Compatibility with diverse legal frameworks (Europe, North America, etc.).
Clear management of contributions and associated rights, essential for a multi-contributor project.
7. Governance and Contribution Model
The choice of license influences project governance. By opting for Apache 2.0, Luxoria:
Avoids debates or friction related to copyleft (often perceived as restrictive).
Encourages diverse contributions (code, documentation, plugins) without legal barriers.
Retains the option to adopt a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) if needed in the future.
8. Community Feedback and Precedent
We have reviewed the practices of similar projects (e.g., Next.js, Vite, Strapi):
Many use permissive licenses like MIT or Apache 2.0.
Developer feedback indicates that freedom of use without constraints is a key factor for adoption.
The choice of Apache 2.0 aligns with this community-driven logic.
9. Risks Considered and Rejected Licenses
Before finalizing our decision, we evaluated several alternatives:
GPLv3: Rejected for its "viral" effect, which is incompatible with our goal of broad distribution, including in closed environments.
MIT: Too brief and lacks an explicit patent grant—posing a significant risk for technological innovation.
MPL 2.0: Offers a middle ground but is more complex to understand for some contributors.
For more details on the Apache License 2.0, see: https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
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