License transition assessment

License transition assessment#

Current conclusion#

RESource remains licensed under MIT. The maintainer may choose Apache License 2.0 for code they own, but the repository should not claim that license for the complete existing work until contributor and third-party provenance is resolved. This is a repository audit, not legal advice.

The Apache Software Foundation confirms that Apache-2.0 is reusable by non-ASF projects and recommends including the full LICENSE, considering a NOTICE, and adding source-file notices. See the ASF licensing FAQ and official license text.

Findings#

  1. Git history contains a substantial contribution by Emir Fejzic, including eu_dem_pipeline.py and related workflow/configuration changes. Obtain written confirmation from the relevant copyright owner(s) before relicensing those contributions under Apache-2.0, or retain/replace separable code under its existing terms following legal review.

  2. Files under src/RESource/lcoe_calculator/ identify code from ATB-calc. The upstream project uses the BSD 3-Clause License and requires preservation of its copyright, conditions, and disclaimer. A root-level third-party notice/license inventory is needed in source and binary distributions.

  3. Regional data and documentation identify additional data licenses and attribution requirements. Code licensing does not override those dataset terms. Generated or bundled data must be reviewed separately.

  4. Dependency licenses normally remain the dependencies' own licenses; they should be inventoried for release compliance, especially if future distributions bundle them.

Clearance checklist#

  • [ ] Confirm the legal copyright owner represented by Copyright (c) 2023 ΔE+.

  • [ ] Obtain and archive consent for non-maintainer contributions, including employer rights where applicable.

  • [ ] Compare copied/adapted files with upstream sources and record their exact versions and modifications.

  • [ ] Add complete BSD-3-Clause text and attribution for ATB-calc-derived files to a third-party notices mechanism included in wheels and source distributions.

  • [ ] Audit committed images, notebooks, configuration data, and sample datasets for redistribution rights.

  • [ ] Decide whether historical releases stay MIT and document the effective version and commit of any license change.

  • [ ] Replace LICENSE with the unmodified Apache-2.0 text, update pyproject.toml and classifiers, add an accurate NOTICE if required, and add SPDX headers only after the preceding rights review.

  • [ ] Build both artifacts and verify that all required license and notice files are included.

  • [ ] Have counsel or an appropriately authorized institutional representative review the final provenance record when ownership is uncertain.