Understanding the Fair Labor License

What FLL asks of people using the software

FLL makes source code available to inspect, modify and redistribute under its terms. Free operational use depends on an individual’s wealth or an organization’s compensation practices. Those outside the conditions must obtain a paid license from the software’s author or an authorized provider.

The aim is reciprocity: people with substantial resources, and organizations outside the compensation boundary, contribute financially to the creators whose work they use.

Who qualifies for free operational use

Individuals: net worth under US$5 million.

Organizations: the CEO’s, or highest-paid executive’s, total annual compensation is no more than 15 times that of the median employee. Eligibility is assessed across parent and subsidiary entities under common control or brand identity.

Total annual compensation includes wages, bonuses, overtime, equity or stock-based compensation, and employer-provided benefits. The license defines the median employee and when part-time and contract labor must be included. Those definitions and documentation requirements are part of the conditions.

Operational use includes software that provides business value, revenue or ongoing internal operations beyond evaluation, including use through a dependency or component.

Why these conditions

The two conditions apply reciprocity to different circumstances. The wealth threshold makes the responsibility attached to substantial personal resources concrete. That responsibility does not depend on whether the wealth came from wages, inheritance, ownership or another source.

For organizations, the compensation ratio connects free use to how pay is distributed among the people doing the work. We chose 15:1 as a practical boundary that organizations can assess against their compensation records. A lower ratio would set a stronger expectation of pay equity while allowing fewer organizations to qualify.

These thresholds are design choices, not a precise dividing line between fairness and exploitation. They give people defined conditions for eligibility. They do not certify every aspect of an individual’s conduct or an organization’s labor practices.

Evaluation, payment and documentation

Anyone may evaluate and test the software for up to 90 days. This exception does not permit operational, commercial or production use.

Someone outside the free-use conditions must obtain a paid license before operational use begins. Free users must self-attest compliance and keep supporting documentation, providing it within 30 days when requested by the author or licensing provider.

If eligibility changes, the license requires purchasing a paid license within 30 days or immediately ceasing operational use. Restoring eligibility restores the rights granted under the license.

What the license addresses

A paid license compensates software creators. It does not discharge an organization’s responsibilities to its employees, guarantee ongoing maintenance, redistribute ownership of AI systems or resolve every inequality discussed in the open letter.

FLL introduces eligibility checks and purchasing obligations that unrestricted licenses avoid. Its conditions place it outside the Open Source Definition, so we describe it as source available.

One option among many

Other creators may prefer worker-ownership conditions, business-size limits, a separate commercial agreement, or paid support alongside an open-source license. Sponsorship and collective funding offer further ways to sustain the work. The shared aim is fair compensation; the arrangement should fit the project.