How the framework is licensed

Software

Source code published as part of the Axioma framework is licensed under GNU Affero General Public Licence version 3 or later (AGPL-3.0-or-later). This covers the substrate library (libaxilog), reference implementations for each framework layer, build tooling, and verification harnesses.

AGPL-3.0 is the strongest reciprocity copyleft in the GNU family. The choice is deliberate: an infrastructure framework targeting safety-critical and regulated deployment must remain commons-bound across both source distribution and network-mediated service deployment. Downstream users deploying Axioma as a service over a network are obliged to make the corresponding source available to their users — a property that ordinary GPL does not extend to network deployment.

The SPDX identifier for new source files is AGPL-3.0-or-later. Each file should carry this identifier in its header alongside the copyright line.

Documentation and specifications

Documentation, articles, and specification prose published on axilog.io are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC-BY-SA-4.0). This covers the framework specifications (the SRS/DVEC documents in the Vault), the insights articles, the manifesto, and structural pages such as /framework/ and /about/.

CC-BY-SA-4.0 is compatible with AGPL-3.0 in the directions that matter: a reader may quote, adapt, or build on the documentation provided they attribute the source and license their derivative work under the same terms. The specifications are intended to be cited, adapted, and extended; the share-alike clause ensures derivatives remain in the commons.

When a specification is referenced in formal correspondence or downstream documentation, citation by its frontmatter identifier (e.g. SRS-007 v1.0-rc1) and the axilog.io URL is sufficient. Long-form attribution is not required for citation.

Patents

The Axioma framework derives in part from two UK patents covering the Murray Deterministic Computing Platform (MDCP):

• GB2521625.0 — Deterministic Computing Platform
• GB2522369.4 — Deterministic Computing Platform (continuation)

Both patents are assigned to Spey Systems Ltd as part of the consolidation of framework assets under the operating entity. Assignment paperwork follows incorporation; the intent is matter-of-record from the company's formation.

Section 11 of AGPL-3.0 (titled Patents) imposes an explicit patent grant: every contributor licenses recipients to use, modify, sell, and otherwise distribute contributions covered by their essential patent claims, on a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive basis. By publishing the framework under AGPL-3.0-or-later, Spey Systems Ltd extends this patent grant to the framework's recipients to the extent the patents read on the published artefacts.

The AGPL-3.0 patent grant attaches at the time of contribution and persists. Recipients of the published artefacts retain the grant regardless of any future patent licensing arrangements Spey Systems Ltd enters into for uses falling outside the open-source artefact set.

Contributions

External contributions to the Axioma framework are accepted under a Contributor Licence Agreement (CLA) lodged in the canonical source repository at github.com/SpeyTech/axioma-spec. The CLA preserves the contributor's copyright in their contribution while granting Spey Systems Ltd the rights necessary to relicense the corpus if the framework's commons obligations ever require it.

Contributions are accepted under the same licensing terms as the corresponding artefact: AGPL-3.0-or-later for source code, CC-BY-SA-4.0 for documentation and specifications.

Commercial licensing

AGPL-3.0-or-later is the right licence for the open framework and for the majority of downstream uses, including production deployment of the open artefacts in regulated industries. The strong copyleft is feature, not friction.

For use cases where AGPL-3.0's network-deployment source- availability obligations cannot be met — for example, embedding the substrate into a proprietary product distributed without source — alternative commercial licensing is available. Enquiries through the Legal Notice contact route reach Spey Systems Ltd directly.

Warranty disclaimer

The framework and its specifications are published "as is", without warranty of any kind, to the extent permitted by applicable law. Sections 15 and 16 of AGPL-3.0 (disclaimer of warranty and limitation of liability) apply in full to the software components; equivalent disclaimers in CC-BY-SA-4.0 apply to the documentation components.

Anyone deploying the framework in a safety-critical or regulated context remains responsible for independent verification, formal review, and obtaining their own certifications. The specifications reference industrial standards (DO-178C, IEC 62304, ISO 26262, IEC 61508, MISRA-C:2012); these references describe what the framework targets, not certified conformance.