AI Framework License Terms
We advise on the legal implications of licenses governing AI frameworks like TensorFlow (Apache 2.0), PyTorch (BSD), and Hugging Face libraries for your product development.
Open Source Licensing and Advisory Services
Open Source Licensing and Advisory Services
Legal advisory on open source license interpretation, compliance, and policy development
Open Source Licensing and Advisory Services
BananaIP has experience in the area of open source software licensing and advisory services, and provides legal and strategic support relating to open source licensing, risk management, and compliance. Since 2004, the firm has advised on open source licensing matters in India and has worked across different phases of technological development in this field.
The team handling these matters has experience in technology and intellectual property law, which enables it to address legal and practical issues relating to open source software in a business and technology context.
In the current technology environment, open source software is used across sectors such as AI, electronics, telecommunications, electric mobility, automotive, robotics, IoT, and IT, among others. BananaIP advises businesses in these and other sectors on open source licensing issues based on their specific requirements and circumstances.
The firm's open source advisory services cover opinions on open source licences and the use of software governed by such licences. These services also include advice relating to licence compliance and notices, patent considerations for products developed using open source software, release of products under open source licences, and the development and implementation of open source policies and practices.
The firm's work in this area draws from its experience in open source licensing, along with its background in technology and intellectual property law. This enables it to provide advice that takes into account legal, technical, and business considerations relevant to the use and management of open source software.
Open Source in the AI Era
The growth of AI and machine learning has made open source compliance more critical than ever.
Model & Dataset Licensing
Pre-trained models and datasets have distinct licenses from code. We help interpret these terms, including restrictions on commercial use and derivative works.
Legal Guidance for AI Products
AI applications integrate multiple open source components. We provide legal guidance on license obligations across your technology stack.
Transaction Support
We support AI startups and enterprises with legal due diligence on open source matters during funding rounds, acquisitions, and commercial partnerships.
Service Offerings
Open Source License Opinions
We provide legal opinions on a wide range of open source and Creative Commons licences, offering clarity and practical guidance on the legal and strategic issues involved in open source licensing.
Drafting of Open Source Licenses
Our service includes drafting tailored open source licences that correspond with clients' specific requirements and objectives, while taking into account legal, commercial, and business considerations.
Development and Implementation of Open Source Policies and Best Practices
We assist in the creation and implementation of open source policies and best practices, which helps clients maintain compliance and adopt a structured approach to open source software integration.
Open Source License Compliance
Our team provides compliance related services that help ensure that clients' use of open source software conforms to applicable legal requirements and licence terms.
Open Source Audit and Advisory Services
We conduct audits of open source software usage and provide advice that helps identify risks, address issues, and support informed decisions relating to open source technologies.
Expert Dispute Resolution
Our services also extend to disputes relating to open source licensing, and include legal support for addressing such matters in a practical and effective manner.
Tailored Corporate Training Programs
We offer customised training programmes for corporate teams, which helps strengthen understanding of open source licensing, compliance requirements, and best practices.
Patent Risk Clearance
Our team undertakes assessment of patent related risks associated with the use of open source software.
Intellectual Property Strategy Integration
Beyond open source licensing, we provide support for integrating open source strategies with broader intellectual property objectives, which helps maintain a consistent and comprehensive approach to IP protection and commercialisation.
Technology Specific Licensing Consultation
Recognising the distinct issues that arise in different technology sectors, we provide licensing advice for domains such as AI, IoT, and robotics, among others.
Open Source Software Release Management
We assist clients in the release of software under open source licences and address the related legal, strategic, and practical considerations.
Ongoing Legal and Technical Support
Our service includes continued support in relation to legal or technical issues arising from the use of open source software, which helps maintain compliance and respond to developments in licensing jurisprudence.
At BananaIP, we offer a broad range of services in the area of open source licensing. Our work covers legal, strategic, and practical aspects of the use, development, and release of open source software.
License Categories
We advise on the full spectrum of open source licenses—from traditional software licenses to AI model and dataset licenses emerging in the generative AI landscape.
Hover or tap on any license for a quick summary of permissions and obligations.
Permissive Licenses
Allow broad use with minimal restrictions, typically requiring attribution only.
MIT License
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, private use
◆ Required:License and copyright notice
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims
BSD 2-Clause
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, private use
◆ Required:License and copyright notice
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims
BSD 3-Clause
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, private use
◆ Required:License and copyright notice
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims, use of contributor names for endorsement
Apache 2.0
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, patent use, private use
◆ Required:License, copyright, state changes, NOTICE file
✗ Prohibited:Trademark use, liability, warranty claims
ISC License
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, private use
◆ Required:License and copyright notice
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims
Unlicense
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, private use—no conditions
◆ Required:Nothing
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims
Boost
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, private use
◆ Required:License notice for source distributions only
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims
PostgreSQL
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, private use
◆ Required:License and copyright notice
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims
Copyleft Licenses
Require derivative works to be distributed under the same license terms.
GPL v2
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, private use
◆ Required:Disclose source, license, copyright, state changes
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims, sublicensing under different terms
GPL v3
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, patent use, private use
◆ Required:Disclose source, license, copyright, state changes, install info (for consumer devices)
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims, tivoization
LGPL
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, private use, linking
◆ Required:Disclose source of LGPL component, license, copyright
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims
AGPL v3
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, patent use, private use
◆ Required:Disclose source (including network use), license, copyright, state changes
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims
EUPL
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, patent use
◆ Required:Disclose source, license, copyright, state changes
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims, trademark use
OSL 3.0
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, patent use
◆ Required:Disclose source, license, copyright, state changes
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims, trademark use
Weak Copyleft Licenses
Apply copyleft to modified files but allow combination with proprietary code.
MPL 2.0
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, patent use, private use
◆ Required:Disclose source of MPL files, license, copyright
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims, trademark use
EPL 2.0
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, patent use
◆ Required:Disclose source of EPL files, license, copyright
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims
CDDL
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, patent use
◆ Required:Disclose source of CDDL files, license, copyright
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims, trademark use
Artistic 2.0
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, private use
◆ Required:License, copyright, state changes, rename modified versions
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims
LGPL (linking)
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, linking with proprietary code, distribution
◆ Required:Disclose source of LGPL component, allow relinking
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims, static linking restrictions
AI & Model Licenses
Govern use of AI models, weights, and outputs. Often include responsible use restrictions and commercial terms.
OpenRAIL-M
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, fine-tuning
◆ Required:License, use restrictions attachment, attribution
✗ Prohibited:Harmful applications, illegal content generation, surveillance without consent
OpenRAIL-S
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution (source code focus)
◆ Required:License, use restrictions attachment
✗ Prohibited:Same as OpenRAIL-M for associated models
Llama 2/3
✓ Allowed:Commercial use (under 700M MAU), modification, fine-tuning, distribution
◆ Required:Acceptable use policy, attribution, license inclusion
✗ Prohibited:Illegal activities, harm, exceeding MAU threshold without agreement
Gemma
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, fine-tuning, distribution
◆ Required:Terms acceptance, usage guidelines compliance
✗ Prohibited:Harmful applications, illegal content, circumventing safety measures
BLOOM
✓ Allowed:Research, commercial use with restrictions, modification
◆ Required:License, responsible AI use, attribution
✗ Prohibited:Illegal activities, discrimination, surveillance, deception
CreativeML
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, fine-tuning for image generation
◆ Required:License, use restrictions, attribution
✗ Prohibited:Harmful imagery, illegal content, deepfakes without consent
Data & Dataset Licenses
Govern use of training data, datasets, and database contents. Critical for AI/ML development.
CDLA-Permissive
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, ML training
◆ Required:License notice
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims
CDLA-Sharing
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, ML training
◆ Required:Share enhanced data under same terms, license
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims
ODbL
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution
◆ Required:Attribution, share-alike for derivative databases, keep open
✗ Prohibited:DRM/technical restrictions that limit access
ODC-By
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution
◆ Required:Attribution only
✗ Prohibited:Liability, warranty claims
PDDL
✓ Allowed:Any use—no restrictions (public domain dedication)
◆ Required:Nothing
✗ Prohibited:Nothing (public domain)
CC BY (data)
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution, ML training
◆ Required:Attribution, indicate changes
✗ Prohibited:Implying endorsement
Creative Commons
Commonly used for documentation, media, model cards, and non-software content.
CC0
✓ Allowed:Any use—no restrictions (public domain dedication)
◆ Required:Nothing
✗ Prohibited:Nothing (public domain)
CC BY
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution
◆ Required:Attribution, indicate changes
✗ Prohibited:Implying endorsement
CC BY-SA
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, modification, distribution
◆ Required:Attribution, share-alike (same license for derivatives)
✗ Prohibited:Implying endorsement, different license for derivatives
CC BY-NC
✓ Allowed:Non-commercial use, modification, distribution
◆ Required:Attribution, indicate changes
✗ Prohibited:Commercial use, implying endorsement
CC BY-ND
✓ Allowed:Commercial use, distribution of unmodified work
◆ Required:Attribution
✗ Prohibited:Modifications, derivative works
CC BY-NC-SA
✓ Allowed:Non-commercial use, modification, distribution
◆ Required:Attribution, share-alike
✗ Prohibited:Commercial use, different license for derivatives
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about our open source licensing legal services
We provide a broad range of legal services in the area of open source licensing, including:1) Legal opinions on open source and Creative Commons licences2) Drafting of tailored open source licences3) Development and implementation of open source policies and best practices4) Licence compliance services5) Legal audit and advisory services6) Dispute resolution7) Corporate training programmes8) Patent risk clearance9) IP strategy integration10) Technology specific licensing consultation11) Software release management, and12) Ongoing legal support. Our work covers legal, strategic, and practical aspects of the use, development, and release of open source software.
No, we do not provide technical services such as code scanning, SBOM generation, component identification, or technical code auditing. Our practice is focused entirely on legal advisory. The audits we conduct are legal and compliance audits of open source software usage, not technical scans. Clients typically provide us with repository and component information (often generated by their own scanning tools), and we conduct legal due diligence on the licences involved. We can recommend scanning tools and work alongside your technical teams to address legal questions arising from their findings.
You provide us with information about the open source components in your product—typically from a software bill of materials (SBOM), scanning tool output, or repository details. We then analyse the applicable licenses, assess obligations and risks, and deliver a legal opinion. Depending on your needs, this can be a preliminary assessment for quick guidance or a formal attorney-level opinion for transactions or high-stakes decisions.
Open source licenses fall into three main categories:1) Permissive licenses (MIT, BSD, Apache) allow broad use with minimal restrictions, typically requiring only attribution.2) Copyleft licenses (GPL, AGPL) require derivative works to be distributed under the same license terms.3) Weak copyleft licenses (MPL, LGPL) apply copyleft to modified files but allow combination with proprietary code. Understanding these categories is essential for compliance.
Yes, we advise on the legal aspects of AI model licenses (OpenRAIL, Llama, Gemma, etc.) and dataset licenses (CDLA, ODbL, etc.). These licenses differ from traditional software licenses—they often include responsible use restrictions, commercial use conditions, and terms governing model outputs. We help interpret these terms and advise on obligations when incorporating AI models or training data into your products.
GPL compliance requires that if you distribute software containing GPL-licensed code, you must make the complete source code available under GPL terms. This includes your modifications and, depending on how components interact, potentially other parts of your codebase. Non-compliance can result in license termination, copyright infringement claims, and reputational damage. We provide legal analysis and guidance on meeting GPL obligations.
Yes, open source due diligence is a core part of our practice. We assess license compliance risks in target companies, identify potential liabilities, and advise on deal implications. Open source issues discovered during due diligence can affect valuations and deal terms. We provide legal opinions that support informed decision-making during acquisitions, investments, and other transactions.
Yes, we draft organisational policies governing open source usage, contribution, and release. This includes defining approval processes, acceptable license categories, contribution guidelines, and compliance procedures. We tailor policies to your business objectives and risk tolerance, creating a legal framework that supports your development practices while managing IP risks.
Discuss Your Open Source Licensing and Advisory Requirements
Share your requirements and our team will contact you shortly.
We typically respond within 24-48 business hours.