Licensing
Last updated: 20 February 2026
Different parts of MoreRight have different licenses. This page explains what you can use, how, and under what terms. Plain language, same principle as our privacy policy and terms.
The model: methodology is open, ratings are the product. Same structure as S&P publishing their rating criteria while charging for the actual ratings. We publish how void scores are calculated (CC-BY). The scoring service, applied analyses, and operational platform are the business.
The Three Tiers
The MoreRight License v1.0
The MoreRight License is a source-available license designed on the same constraint principles the framework measures. It scores 1/12 on its own three-dimensional scale — near the constraint pole.
What You Can Always Do (No License Needed)
- Read — everything is readable
- Study & learn — use for education and understanding
- Academic research — cite, analyze, build on
- Journalism — report on, reference, quote
- Falsification — attempt to disprove the framework
- Non-commercial use — any purpose that isn't generating revenue
Commercial Use — The Void Score Gate
Commercial rights are determined by your organization's Void Score on the framework's own 12-point scale. The same methodology used to score platforms is used to determine licensing terms. The methodology is CC-BY — anyone can audit how scores are calculated.
| Void Score | Tier | Commercial Terms |
|---|---|---|
| ≤ 4/12 | Void Index Certified | Free commercial use — any organization size. Enroll in continuous monitoring. |
| 5–7/12 | Standard | Published pricing. Same rate for everyone at the same score level. |
| 8–9/12 | Void Premium | 5× standard pricing. Mandatory remediation plan (public, measurable milestones). Quarterly monitoring. |
| ≥ 10/12 | Enterprise Punitive | 10× standard or revenue-share (whichever greater). Monthly monitoring. Annual independent audit. |
Indie Threshold
Small organizations can use Tier 2 content commercially without a Void Score assessment if they meet all three conditions:
- Annual gross revenue under $1M USD
- External funding raised under $5M USD
- Headcount under 25 full-time equivalents
If you cross any threshold, you have 90 days to get a Void Score assessment or obtain a license.
Hard Restrictions (Anti-Drift)
Regardless of score, payment, or licensing status, the following uses are prohibited:
- Dark patterns — using the framework to design opacity + behavior manipulation
- Addiction engineering — using it to build responsiveness + vulnerability calibration + variable reward loops
- Coercive design — using it to create coupling + manufactured switching costs + data hostage-taking
- Anti-blueprint — reverse-engineering the scoring to evade detection while preserving underlying void
Defensive use is always permitted. Using the framework to identify, measure, expose, or defend against manipulation is exactly what it's for. Analyzing dark patterns = using the framework as intended. Designing dark patterns using framework knowledge = prohibited.
Dynamic Rights
Your rights change as your score changes:
| Direction | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Score improves | New (better) terms take effect immediately. No waiting period. |
| Score worsens | Current license term honored. New terms apply at renewal. 90-day grace period for tier transitions. |
Improvement is rewarded instantly. Decline is handled with grace periods. This asymmetry is intentional — we want to incentivize getting better, not punish immediately when things slip.
The Change Date
February 19, 2030
On this date, the MoreRight License v1.0 converts to Apache 2.0. All copyright restrictions beyond Apache 2.0 cease to apply. The Void Score Gate, secondary gates, and anti-drift provisions no longer restrict use through copyright.
What survives: Trademark protections (MoreRight™, Void Index™, Void Index Certified™) and moral rights (misrepresentation, false origin). CC-BY content stays CC-BY.
Why: Perpetual proprietary restriction on knowledge contradicts the framework's own constraint specification. Four years is sufficient to establish the rating service, build the data moat, and prove the business model. The moat after 2030 is operational — the scored platform database, certification marks, monitoring contracts, and service relationships — not legal restriction.
This date is locked. It cannot be amended. It is embedded in the structural protections of the license itself (Section 15).
Scorer Conflict Safeguards
MoreRight writes the license AND assigns the scores that determine your rights. We acknowledge this is a structural conflict. Here is how it is addressed:
- Open methodology — how scores are calculated is CC-BY. Anyone can replicate a score.
- Published pricing — same price for every organization at the same score level. Not negotiated.
- Audit rights — receive written scoring rationale citing specific evidence. Commission an independent audit.
- No weaponization — scores cannot be raised retroactively mid-term. Scoring threats cannot extract non-licensing concessions.
- DAO governance — $MORR token holders vote on appeals, remediation acceptance, score disputes, and revenue allocation. The DAO does not vote on scoring methodology (that's measurement, not policy).
Enforcement & Cure
If you breach the license:
- 30-day cure period — we notify you of the breach and you have 30 days to fix it
- If cured — license reinstated as if the breach never happened
- If not cured — license terminates with 90-day wind-down
- CC-BY content unaffected — termination of the MoreRight License does not affect your rights to Tier 1 content
Full License Text
The canonical text of the MoreRight License v1.0 will be published at the MoreRight DAO GitHub repository. The full license contains 15 sections covering scope, open science anchor, free use, the Void Score Gate, secondary gates, scorer conflict safeguards, anti-drift provisions, dynamic rights, attribution, the Change Date, DAO governance, enforcement, definitions, versioning, and amendments.
Questions: [email protected]
Quick Reference — Can I Use This?
| Use Case | Answer |
|---|---|
| Read the papers | Yes — always |
| Cite in academic work | Yes — CC-BY |
| Write about it in journalism | Yes — always |
| Try to disprove the framework | Yes — and there's a bounty |
| Use scoring methodology commercially | Yes — CC-BY permits all uses |
| Use Tier 2 papers non-commercially | Yes — always free |
| Use Tier 2 papers commercially (under Indie Threshold) | Yes — if <$1M revenue, <$5M funding, <25 FTE |
| Use Tier 2 papers commercially (above threshold) | Get a Void Score — terms depend on your score |
| Copy site code | No — Tier 3, all rights reserved |
| Build dark patterns with the framework | No — prohibited regardless of license status |
Why this license is different
Most source-available licenses are binary — open or closed, with a time delay or service-provider exception. The MoreRight License is behavioral. Your rights expand as your organization moves toward the constraint pole. If you're building transparent, invariant, independent systems, you get free commercial use. If you're building opaque, responsive, coupled systems, you pay more — and the premium funds the research that holds those systems accountable. The license measures what it protects.
See also: Terms of Service · Trademark & Copyright · Privacy Policy · Void Index Certification