Add researcher reciprocity license (#487)

Author: msaroufim

LICENSE

@@ -1,21 +1,245 @@
-MIT License
-
-Copyright (c) 2025 GPU MODE
-
-Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
-of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
-in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
-to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
-copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
-furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
-
-The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
-copies or substantial portions of the Software.
-
-THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
-IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
-FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
-AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
-LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
-OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
-SOFTWARE.
+June 9 Researcher Reciprocity License
+Version 1.0
+dated June 9, 2026
+
+This is a license (the "License") between you ("You") and GPU Mode and the
+KernelBot contributors ("Licensor"). This License adapts the Open Responsible
+AI License Source ("Open RAIL-S") pattern for source code and project
+materials, and adds the Researcher Reciprocity use restriction in Attachment A.
+It is intended to have an open and permissive character while preserving
+reciprocal research access when the Project Materials are used to train or
+improve AI systems.
+
+If you train on it, you let us generate.
+
+Section I: Preamble
+
+KernelBot is the backend service for the GPU Mode kernel competition platform.
+The Project Materials include source code, documentation, configuration,
+examples, tests, scripts, and related materials distributed with this License.
+
+Licensor wishes to promote collaboration, open research, education,
+benchmarking, and broad reuse of the Project Materials. Licensor also wishes to
+avoid a one-way bargain in which researchers and contributors publish ideas and
+code that are used to improve AI systems, while the providers of those AI
+systems then prohibit those same researchers from generating outputs,
+evaluating the systems, benchmarking them, publishing research, or exploring
+their own ideas.
+
+This License therefore grants broad rights to use the Project Materials,
+subject to attribution and the use-based restriction in Attachment A.
+
+Section II: Definitions
+
+1. "License" means these terms and conditions for use, reproduction, and
+Distribution.
+
+2. "Project Materials" means the source code, documentation, configuration,
+examples, tests, scripts, data, metadata, and other materials distributed with
+this License.
+
+3. "Output" means the results of operating a model, service, application, or
+other system.
+
+4. "Model" means any machine-learning or artificial-intelligence based
+assemblies, including model weights, checkpoints, parameters, optimizer states,
+adapters, embedding systems, agents, APIs, hosted services, or other systems
+that are trained, tuned, evaluated, benchmarked, or otherwise used in connection
+with the Project Materials.
+
+5. "Derivatives of the Project Materials" means all modifications,
+transformations, annotations, translations, extracts, subsets, compilations,
+arrangements, or other works based on the Project Materials.
+
+6. "Derivatives of a Model" means all modifications to a Model, works based on
+a Model, or any other model that is created or initialized by transfer of
+patterns of weights, parameters, activations, embeddings, outputs, or other
+representations of the Model, including distillation methods and methods based
+on synthetic data generated by the Model.
+
+7. "Training Use" means using the Project Materials, in whole or in part, to
+train, pretrain, fine-tune, post-train, align, distill, evaluate for training,
+benchmark for training, generate synthetic data for training, construct
+embeddings for training, rank or filter examples for training, or otherwise
+improve the weights, behavior, capabilities, or performance of a Model or
+Derivatives of a Model.
+
+8. "Covered Model" means any Model or Derivatives of a Model that is trained,
+fine-tuned, distilled, aligned, evaluated for training, benchmarked for
+training, or otherwise improved through Training Use of the Project Materials.
+
+9. "Distribution" means any transmission, reproduction, publication, hosting,
+or other sharing of the Project Materials, Derivatives of the Project
+Materials, a Covered Model, or Derivatives of a Covered Model to a third party,
+including making any of them available by electronic or remote means, such as
+API-based or web access.
+
+10. "Licensor" means GPU Mode, the project maintainers, and any contributor who
+has authority to license their contribution under these terms.
+
+11. "You" or "Your" means an individual or legal entity exercising permissions
+granted by this License or making use of the Project Materials for any purpose.
+
+12. "Third Parties" means individuals or legal entities that are not under
+common control with Licensor or You.
+
+13. "Authorized Researchers" means GPU Mode, the project maintainers, project
+contributors, and any researchers or organizations that GPU Mode designates in
+writing for purposes of generating outputs from, evaluating, benchmarking,
+auditing, criticizing, or publishing research about a Covered Model.
+
+14. "Ordinary Users" means the general class of users to whom You make a
+Covered Model available, including through a public product, commercial product,
+research release, API, hosted service, preview, beta, or gated access program.
+
+Section III: Intellectual Property Rights
+
+2. Grant of Copyright License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this
+License, each Licensor grants You a worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge,
+royalty-free copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of,
+publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute the Project
+Materials and Derivatives of the Project Materials.
+
+3. No Patent License. This License does not grant any patent license.
+
+Section IV: Conditions of Usage, Distribution, and Redistribution
+
+4. Distribution and Redistribution. You may reproduce and distribute copies of
+the Project Materials or Derivatives of the Project Materials in any medium,
+with or without modifications, provided that You meet the following conditions:
+
+4.1. You must give Third Party recipients of the Project Materials or
+Derivatives of the Project Materials a copy of this License or a clear link to
+it.
+
+4.2. You must retain reasonable copyright, license, and attribution notices,
+excluding notices that do not pertain to any part of the Project Materials or
+Derivatives of the Project Materials.
+
+4.3. You must give reasonable attribution to GPU Mode and KernelBot. Reasonable
+attribution includes, where practical, the project name, a link to the project
+source, and any citation requested in the project documentation.
+
+4.4. You must cause any modified files or documentation that You Distribute to
+carry prominent notices stating that You changed them.
+
+4.5. You may add Your own copyright statement to Your modifications and may
+provide additional or different license terms for Your independent additions,
+annotations, analyses, software, models, outputs, or other works, provided that
+Your use, reproduction, and Distribution of the Project Materials otherwise
+complies with this License.
+
+5. Use-Based Restrictions. The restriction set forth in Attachment A is a
+use-based restriction. You may not use the Project Materials, Derivatives of the
+Project Materials, Covered Models, or Derivatives of Covered Models for the
+restricted use specified in Attachment A.
+
+For Training Use, the use-based restriction in Attachment A must be included as
+an enforceable provision in any legal agreement, terms of use, acceptable use
+policy, license, or other terms governing the use or Distribution of a Covered
+Model or Derivatives of a Covered Model. You must give notice to subsequent
+users that the Covered Model or Derivatives of the Covered Model are subject to
+Attachment A.
+
+6. Outputs. Except as stated in this License, Licensor claims no rights in the
+Output You generate using a Covered Model. You are accountable for the Output
+You generate and its subsequent uses. No use of the Output may contravene this
+License.
+
+Section V: Other Provisions
+
+7. No Endorsement. Nothing in this License permits You to use Licensor's names,
+logos, trademarks, or service marks to imply endorsement, sponsorship, or
+approval.
+
+8. Third-Party Rights. The Project Materials may include material submitted by
+third parties. This License applies only to rights that Licensor has authority
+to license. You are responsible for complying with any third-party rights,
+privacy obligations, laws, or regulations that apply to Your use.
+
+9. Disclaimer of Warranty. Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in
+writing, Licensor provides the Project Materials on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied, including
+warranties or conditions of TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS
+FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, AVAILABILITY, OR ABSENCE OF DEFECTS. You
+are solely responsible for determining the appropriateness of using or
+redistributing the Project Materials and assume any risks associated with Your
+exercise of permissions under this License.
+
+10. Limitation of Liability. To the maximum extent permitted by law, in no
+event and under no legal theory, whether in tort, contract, or otherwise,
+unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, shall any Licensor or
+contributor be liable to You for damages, including direct, indirect, special,
+incidental, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages arising as a result of
+this License or out of the use or inability to use the Project Materials, even
+if such Licensor or contributor has been advised of the possibility of such
+damages.
+
+11. Accepting Warranty or Additional Liability. While redistributing the Project
+Materials or Derivatives of the Project Materials, You may choose to offer, and
+charge a fee for, acceptance of support, warranty, indemnity, or other liability
+obligations or rights consistent with this License. However, in accepting such
+obligations, You may act only on Your own behalf and on Your sole
+responsibility, not on behalf of any Licensor or contributor, and only if You
+agree to indemnify, defend, and hold each Licensor and contributor harmless for
+any liability incurred by, or claims asserted against, such Licensor or
+contributor by reason of Your accepting any such warranty or additional
+liability.
+
+12. Termination. If You violate this License, Your rights under it terminate
+automatically. For violations other than violations of Attachment A, Your rights
+are reinstated if You cure the violation within 30 days after discovering it or
+receiving written notice from Licensor. For violations of Attachment A involving
+a Covered Model, Your Training Use rights terminate automatically as to the
+affected Covered Model and may be reinstated only if Licensor provides written
+reinstatement or waiver.
+
+13. Severability. If any provision of this License is held invalid, illegal, or
+unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain valid as if the provision had not
+been set forth. The unenforceable provision will be interpreted or reformed only
+to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable while preserving its
+purpose.
+
+14. Additional Permission. Licensor may grant additional permissions,
+exceptions, waivers, commercial terms, or private licenses in writing. Those
+permissions apply only to the recipient and scope stated in the written grant.
+
+End of Terms and Conditions
+
+Attachment A
+Use Restriction: Researcher Reciprocity for Training Use
+
+You agree not to use the Project Materials or Derivatives of the Project
+Materials for Training Use if You make the resulting Covered Model or
+Derivatives of the Covered Model available under terms, policies, technical
+measures, access rules, account restrictions, acceptable-use rules, or other
+conditions that prohibit, penalize, or materially burden Authorized Researchers
+from:
+
+1. generating outputs from the Covered Model;
+
+2. evaluating, auditing, red-teaming, or benchmarking the Covered Model;
+
+3. comparing the Covered Model to other systems;
+
+4. publishing research, criticism, measurements, benchmark results, or analysis
+concerning the Covered Model; or
+
+5. using the Covered Model to explore, test, or develop their own research
+ideas.
+
+This access must be available on materially equal terms to those offered to
+Ordinary Users of the Covered Model, subject only to neutral limits that apply
+equally to Ordinary Users, such as generally applicable rate limits, payment
+terms, safety rules, security rules, and laws.
+
+Any terms, policies, technical measures, access rules, account restrictions,
+acceptable-use rules, or other conditions that conflict with this Attachment A
+make the Covered Model ineligible for the Training Use grant unless Licensor has
+waived the conflict in writing.
+
+You may not suspend, ban, throttle, sue, threaten, or otherwise retaliate
+against Authorized Researchers solely because they engage in the activities
+listed in this Attachment A, provided that their activity complies with
+generally applicable law and neutral safety or security rules that are also
+applied to Ordinary Users.

README.md

@@ -78,6 +78,16 @@ Use `/verifyruns` to test GitHub Actions integration and `/verifydb` to check da
 
 To donate a GPU, contact us to become a CI admin and add an org-level runner at https://github.com/organizations/gpu-mode/settings/actions/runners
 
+## License
+
+This project is licensed under the [June 9 Researcher Reciprocity License](LICENSE).
+
+The license adapts the Open RAIL-S structure and adds one specific use restriction: training, fine-tuning, distillation, synthetic-data generation for training, embedding for training, or otherwise using this project to improve an AI model or AI service requires Researcher Reciprocity.
+
+> If you train on it, you let us generate.
+
+Covered AI model and service providers may not use this project while imposing terms that prevent GPU Mode, project contributors, or authorized researchers from generating outputs, evaluating models, benchmarking, publishing research, or exploring their own research ideas on materially equal terms to ordinary users.
+
 ## Acknowledgements
 
 - Modal for credits