Froback Project License (FPL) – Version 8.0 © 2025 Leon Götze & Kenley Muth
TABLE OF CONTENTS Part I – Preamble & Definitions Part II – Grant of Rights & Scope of License Part III – Commercial Use, Sublicensing & Derivative Works Part IV – Intellectual Property, Branding & Trademarks Part V – Restrictions, Prohibited Uses & Reverse Engineering Part VI – Contributions, Modifications & Reporting Obligations Part VII – Warranty, Liability & Indemnification Part VIII – Termination, Breach & Enforcement Part IX – Governing Law, Jurisdiction & Dispute Resolution Part X – Force Majeure, Severability & Miscellaneous
PART I – PREAMBLE & DEFINITIONS
1.1 Preamble This Froback Project License (“License” or “FPL”) governs the acquisition, access, use, reproduction, modification, distribution, contribution, hosting, deployment, or any interaction with the Froback Project (“Project”), including without limitation its Source Code, Object Code, Libraries, Binaries, Documentation, Derivative Works, Trademarks, Logos, and all associated Intellectual Property Rights (“IPR”). The Project is the exclusive and perpetual intellectual property of Leon Götze and Kenley Muth (hereinafter “Authors”), and all rights not explicitly granted herein are expressly reserved.
Licensee (“You”) acknowledges that any unauthorized use of the Project constitutes a violation of this License, may infringe statutory and common-law rights, and may subject the Licensee to civil, administrative, and criminal liability, including but not limited to injunctive relief, statutory damages, punitive damages, and reimbursement of legal costs.
Note on German Law: All copyright and related rights are reserved under the German Copyright Act (Urheberrechtsgesetz – §§2, 31, 97 UrhG). Any unauthorized reproduction, distribution, public communication, or modification constitutes a copyright infringement subject to civil and criminal enforcement under German law.
1.2 Definitions 1.2.1 "Project": The entire Froback Project, encompassing Source Code, Object Code, Binaries, Libraries, Scripts, Templates, Build Scripts, Metadata, Logs, Documentation, Configuration Files, Assets, and Derivative Works, whether distributed, deployed, or accessed in electronic or physical form. 1.2.2 "Authors": Leon Götze & Kenley Muth. 1.2.3 "Licensee / You": Any natural person, legal entity, corporation, educational institution, non-profit organization, or governmental body using, accessing, copying, modifying, distributing, or contributing to the Project. 1.2.4 "Source Code": Human-readable code files, scripts, templates, configuration files, metadata, logs, build scripts, and any accompanying materials intended for modification or inspection. 1.2.5 "Binaries": Compiled, packaged, or otherwise machine-readable forms of the Project. 1.2.6 "Derivative Work": Any work that is based upon the Project, in whole or in part, including adaptations, translations, patches, hotfixes, forks, merges, plugins, API integrations, refactorings, or any combination thereof. 1.2.7 "Modification": Any alteration, addition, removal, or restructuring of the Project, whether functional, aesthetic, or technical. 1.2.8 "Commercial Use": Sale, lease, rental, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) deployment, white-labeling, reselling, consulting, advertising integration, monetization, or any use resulting in financial or material gain. 1.2.9 "Confidential Information": Any non-public information regarding the Project, including security mechanisms, source code details, internal communications, beta-testing results, documentation drafts, and unpublished Derivative Works, whether oral, written, or digital. 1.2.10 "Documentation": All written, graphical, electronic, or digital materials describing, explaining, illustrating, or accompanying the Project.
1.3 Examples of Scope
- Authorized Personal Use: Learning, research, experimentation, testing in non-production environments.
- Authorized Educational Use: Classroom instruction, non-commercial research projects, academic demonstrations.
- Unauthorized Commercial Use: Hosting the Project as a SaaS product, monetized applications, resale, consulting revenue generation, or integration into monetized services.
- Derivative Work Examples: Forking the Project on public or private repositories, adapting the Project for private use, creating plugins, modules, or API-based integrations.
Note on German Law: Liability disclaimer follows §276 BGB: Authors shall not be liable for any direct or indirect damages, loss of data, or loss of profits arising from use, modification, or distribution of the Project. Support, updates, or availability are not guaranteed.
PART II – GRANT OF RIGHTS & SCOPE OF LICENSE
2.1 Grant of Rights Subject to compliance with all terms and conditions of this License, the Authors hereby grant to the Licensee a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable, worldwide license to: a) Use, study, copy, and modify the Project solely for personal, educational, or research purposes; b) Create, distribute, or otherwise make available Derivative Works under this License; c) Distribute unmodified copies of the Project including this License and proper attribution; d) Deploy the Project internally within organizations, provided no Commercial Use is involved.
2.2 Reservation of Rights All rights not expressly granted herein are expressly reserved by the Authors. No implied licenses are granted.
2.3 Scope Limitations a) Licensee may not:
- Engage in any Commercial Use without written permission.
- Sublicense or transfer rights to third parties.
- Remove or alter any copyright, trademark, or proprietary notices.
- Use the Project for illegal, unethical, or malicious purposes. b) International Compliance: Licensee shall comply with all applicable export, import, trade, and technology transfer regulations. c) Distribution Platforms: GitHub, cloud repositories, Discord, or any online platform must include this License and maintain attribution.
Note on German Law: Unauthorized Commercial Use constitutes a breach of §31, §97 UrhG.
PART III – COMMERCIAL USE, SUBLICENSING & DERIVATIVE WORKS
3.1 Commercial Use Prohibition Any Commercial Use without prior explicit written authorization constitutes a material breach and may result in civil and criminal liability.
3.2 Written Permission Procedure Licensee seeking authorization must submit a written request including:
- Project description and intended use
- Expected revenue or monetization model
- Duration and geographic scope of use
- Number of users or deployments
- Jurisdictions involved
3.3 Sublicensing Restrictions Licensee may not grant sublicenses, lease, rent, or transfer rights to any third party without Authors’ explicit written permission.
3.4 Derivative Works
- All Derivative Works must remain under this License.
- Proper attribution to Authors is required.
- Submission of contributions grants Authors a royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable license to use, distribute, modify, or incorporate contributions.
3.5 Violations & Legal Consequences
- Breach of Sections 3.1–3.4 leads to immediate termination.
- Authors may pursue civil lawsuits, statutory damages, injunctions, and criminal prosecution.
Note on German Law: Unauthorized Commercial Use or misattribution may be prosecuted under §§31, 97 UrhG.
PART IV – INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, BRANDING & TRADEMARKS
4.1 Ownership All rights, title, and interest in and to the Project, including copyrights, patents, trademarks, trade secrets, moral rights, and derivative works remain exclusively vested in the Authors.
4.2 Branding & Trademark Use
- Project name, logos, trademarks, trade dress (“Branding”) are exclusive property of the Authors.
- Licensee may not use, register, or claim ownership of Branding without written consent.
- Authorized use must comply with Authors’ guidelines for placement, fonts, colors, and attribution.
4.3 Moral Rights Authors retain moral rights, including the right to be recognized as authors of the Project and any Derivative Works.
4.4 Confidentiality Licensee shall maintain confidentiality of non-public information and not disclose without written consent, except as required by law.
Note on German Law: Moral rights and attribution are protected under §12 UrhG.
PART V – RESTRICTIONS, PROHIBITED USES & REVERSE ENGINEERING
5.1 Restrictions Licensee shall not:
- Sell, lease, sublicense, or otherwise commercially exploit the Project or Derivative Works without permission
- Remove or alter copyright, trademark, or proprietary notices
- Use the Project to infringe third-party rights or violate law
- Include malware in any distribution
5.2 Reverse Engineering & Decompilation
- Licensee shall not reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to derive Source Code except as permitted by law
- Circumvention of license restrictions constitutes a material breach
Note on German Law: Reverse engineering without permission may constitute infringement of §69d UrhG.
PART VI – CONTRIBUTIONS, MODIFICATIONS & REPORTING OBLIGATIONS
6.1 Contributions By submitting contributions, Licensee grants Authors a royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable license to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, sublicense, or incorporate contributions.
6.2 Attribution & Derivative Works All Derivative Works must:
- Clearly attribute the Authors
- Include this License
- Remain under the same terms
6.3 Reporting Obligations Licensee must promptly report:
- Security vulnerabilities
- Unauthorized commercial or illegal use
- Breaches or suspected breaches
PART VII – WARRANTY, LIABILITY & INDEMNIFICATION
7.1 Warranty Disclaimer Project is provided "AS IS" without any warranties, including but not limited to merchantability, fitness, non-infringement, security, or continuous availability.
7.2 Limitation of Liability Authors shall not be liable for direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive, or special damages, including loss of data, revenue, or operational downtime.
7.3 Indemnification Licensee agrees to indemnify Authors against all claims, damages, liabilities, costs, or expenses arising from Licensee's use or breach.
PART VIII – TERMINATION, BREACH & ENFORCEMENT
8.1 Termination Material breach results in immediate termination. Licensee must cease all use, distribution, and modification.
8.2 Enforcement Authors may enforce this License via civil and criminal action, including injunctions, statutory damages, legal fees, and prosecution.
8.3 Survival Obligations for attribution, indemnification, liability, confidentiality, and governing law survive termination.
PART IX – GOVERNING LAW, JURISDICTION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION
9.1 Governing Law This License is governed by and construed in accordance with German law.
9.2 Jurisdiction All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent German courts.
9.3 Dispute Resolution Licensee agrees to:
- Engage in good-faith negotiations
- Attempt mediation/arbitration before litigation
- Bear costs if found in breach
PART X – FORCE MAJEURE, SEVERABILITY & MISCELLANEOUS
10.1 Force Majeure Authors are not liable for failures due to circumstances beyond control: natural disasters, war, government actions, network failures, third-party acts.
10.2 Severability If any provision is unenforceable, remainder remains fully effective.
10.3 Miscellaneous
- Export Compliance: Licensee shall comply with all export and trade control laws.
- Support: support@froback.de and Froback Discord; availability not guaranteed.
- Updates: Authors may update License; continued use constitutes acceptance.
- Attribution: All Derivative Works must attribute Leon Götze & Kenley Muth.
- Entire Agreement: This License constitutes the full agreement regarding the Project.
- Non-Waiver: Failure to enforce a provision does not waive rights.