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+Software Licensing
+==================
+
+Software Licenses used by ONF
+-----------------------------
+
+Most of ONF's software is licensed under the `Apache License, Version 2.0
+<https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0>`_ (commonly referred to as
+Apache-2 or APL2).
+
+REUSE License Tool
+""""""""""""""""""
+
+ONF uses the `REUSE <https://reuse.software>`_ toolkit to verify that licenses
+are correctly applied to files within a code repository, as an automated step
+in the CI process.
+
+REUSE replies on the `Software Package Data Exchange (SPDX) license headers
+<https://spdx.dev>`_ headers to be applied to every source code file in the
+system. These are put in a comment at the start of a file, similar to::
+
+ # SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2022 Open Networking Foundation <info@opennetworking.org>
+ # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+License Compatibility
+"""""""""""""""""""""
+
+Software licensing is a complex task, and attention needs to be paid to how
+code is incorporated in ONF projects, or how binaries generated from that code
+are used.
+
+If you would like to use external code in an ONF project that uses a license
+that is not mentioned as being acceptable in the lists below, please make an
+inquiry with the project development team before including that code.
+
+Code Level Linking
+''''''''''''''''''
+
+Apache 2.0 licensed software can incorporate or link directly against code
+written using the following licenses. A few examples:
+
+* BSD with 2, 3 clauses
+* MIT
+* Most "Public Domain" licenses
+
+See also the `ASF 3rd Party License Policy
+<https://www.apache.org/legal/resolved.html>`_ for additional details.
+
+Runtime Usage
+'''''''''''''
+
+Code with these kinds of licenses can be used at runtime, but can't be directly
+linked to:
+
+* GPL and most other "Strong Copyleft" licenses
+
+An example of this would be running an OS like Linux that is GPLv2 licensed as
+a part of an ONF project, it's used but not modified or linked against.
+
+Licenses to avoid
+'''''''''''''''''
+
+The following licenses have various issues related to additional requirements
+placed on it's use that are problematic, or favor one party over others.
+
+* AGPL: This makes requirements on releasing modifications to services
+ delivered over a network.
+
+* BSL: this is a timed license, which is proprietary for a period of time,
+ then automatically relicensed as GPL2
+
+* SSPL (MongoDB, Elasticsearch, etc.): makes requirements upon business process
+ and deployment code.
+
+Dual Licensing
+""""""""""""""
+
+It may be advantageous to dual-license code - code that serves as an example or
+templates that a user would copy and modify. This also could include any code
+that is within documentation.
+
+In cases such as this, it may be advantageous to place examples in the public
+domain, or with a less strict license such as MIT or BSD 2-Clause.
+
+Contributor License Agreement
+-----------------------------
+
+Contributing software to and ONF project requires agreeing to the `Contributor
+Licensing Agreement <https://wiki.opennetworking.org/x/BgCUI>`_, which gives
+ONF a copyright and patent grant to for all code contributions, and the right
+to sublicense the code in the future.