License
This page is for developers, legal reviewers, and decision-makers who need to understand what license IoT DC3 uses, what rights you have, and what obligations it imposes.
You are here: evaluating whether to adopt or redistribute. For key technical decisions, also read Core Concepts and the Contributing Guide.
License
IoT DC3 Community Edition is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0-or-later). The full legal text is at the repository root in LICENSE-AGPL.txt and LICENSE.txt.
AGPL v3 extends GPL v3 with one critical clause: if you serve the software over a network (SaaS), your modified source code must also be released to users. This is directly relevant to IoT DC3's role as an industrial IoT platform.
| You can | You must |
|---|---|
| ✅ Commercial use | ⚠️ Keep the copyright notice and license text intact |
| ✅ Modify the code | ⚠️ Release modifications under AGPL v3 as well |
| ✅ Distribute internally | ⚠️ If you provide the software as a network service (including SaaS), you must make the complete source available |
| ✅ Offer paid services, operations, or custom development | ⚠️ Include a prominent notice that the code is AGPL v3 licensed, along with the license text |
Network interaction triggers copyleft
This is the key difference between AGPL and GPL: GPL triggers the source-disclosure obligation only when you "distribute binaries"; AGPL triggers it when users interact with your modified version over a network. In other words, even if you deploy IoT DC3 as an internal SaaS without distributing binaries, if you modified the code you must make the source available to your users.
Copyright
Copyright 2016-present the IoT DC3 original author or authors.The project is copyrighted by the IoT DC3 original author and all contributors. By submitting code, you agree to license your contribution under AGPL v3 while retaining your individual copyright.
Third-Party Dependencies
IoT DC3 depends on many open-source components (Spring Boot, RabbitMQ, PostgreSQL, Netty, gRPC, etc.), each carrying its own license. Maven resolves them at build time, and each is governed by its respective license. For a complete inventory of third-party dependency licenses, run:
mvn -s .mvn/settings.xml license:aggregate-add-third-partyWhy AGPL v3
Typical industrial IoT platform deployments — factory on-premise installation, device connectivity, data collection — are naturally server-side deployments. We chose AGPL v3 to:
- Prevent closed forks: vendors can't take IoT DC3, modify it slightly, and ship it as a proprietary product without releasing source.
- Protect user rights: anyone using a derivative of IoT DC3 has the right to obtain the source code.
- Encourage upstream contributions: AGPL's copyleft scope gives companies a strong incentive to push changes upstream rather than maintaining private forks.
Further Reading
- Contributing Guide — how to submit code, with license compliance notes
- COPYRIGHT file — the original copyright notice at the repository root
- AGPL v3 FAQ — official GNU FAQ
- Contributor Covenant — the upstream Code of Conduct reference