ADR-003: Relicense Stamp to Apache-2.0

Status

Accepted

Date

2026-07-07

Context

stamp was originally licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License Version 3 (AGPL-3.0). While AGPL-3.0 provides strong copyleft protection, it severely limits corporate adoption due to enterprise legal bans on AGPL software. To foster maximum adoption and ease integration, a permissive license is required.

Decision

Relicense stamp under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (Apache-2.0).

Alternatives Considered

Keep AGPL-3.0

• Pros: Prevents proprietary SaaS/cloud exploitation.
• Cons: Blocks developer/corporate adoption.
• Rejected: Barrier to corporate adoption outweighs protection benefits for a local developer CLI tool.

MIT License

• Pros: Extremely simple, highly permissive.
• Cons: Lacks explicit patent grants.
• Rejected: Apache-2.0 offers superior legal protection via explicit patent grants from contributors to users.

Consequences

• Broadens enterprise adoption and integration.
• Contributors protected by explicit patent licensing clauses.
• Derivatives can be used in proprietary projects.