# Sovereign Source License v2.0

**License Version:** 2.0
**Effective Date:** 2026-07-13
**Copyright Holder:** Ahmad Ali Parr -- Bel Esprit D'Accord Trust
**Project:** SNAPKITTYWEST -- Sovereign Compute Architecture
**Supersedes:** Sovereign Source License v1.0

---

## Preamble

The Sovereign Compute substrate is free. The formed works belong to their makers. No one owns the substrate. The registry records what exists and who made it. The marks signal what has been verified. Nothing more is asserted, granted, or restricted by this License than these propositions require.

This License is a family of three independent instruments:

- **Part II** -- Public Domain Dedication (unilateral, no counter-signature required)
- **Part III** -- Sovereign Registry and Attribution (bilateral, upon Declaration of Formation)
- **Part VII** -- Sovereign Certification Marks (bilateral, upon certification application)

A party may rely on Part II without being subject to Parts III or VII. Parts III and VII apply only to parties who affirmatively engage with the Sovereign Registry or the Certification Mark system.

---

## PART I -- DEFINITIONS

### Section 1. Definitions

**1.1 Core Definitions**

| Term | Definition |
|------|-----------|
| **Work** | The software, documentation, mathematical proofs, and associated files licensed under this agreement |
| **Sovereign Substrate** | The mathematical and computational foundations (Goldilocks field arithmetic, Banach contraction mappings, WORM chain protocols, multi-witness verification) |
| **Formed Work** | A specific implementation, configuration, or deployment built upon the Sovereign Substrate |
| **Maker** | Any person or entity that creates a Formed Work |
| **Bound Work** | A Formed Work that has been registered with the Sovereign Registry |
| **Sovereign Registry** | The append-only ledger recording Formed Works, their Makers, and their verification status |
| **Certification Mark** | The visual marks (textual, graphical, or digital) signifying a specific Certification Tier |
| **Certification Tier** | A level of verification (Tier I through IV) indicating the degree of formal verification achieved |
| **Operator** | Bel Esprit D'Accord Trust, the entity maintaining the Sovereign Registry |
| **Constitutional Core** | The Sovereign Substrate as governed by Part II of this License |
| **Commercial Use** | Use of the Work in products, services, or activities primarily intended for financial gain |
| **AI/ML Training** | Use of the Work to train, fine-tune, evaluate, or benchmark machine learning models |
| **Institutional Body** | Any government agency, corporation, non-profit organization, or institutional entity |

**1.2 Certification Tiers**

| Tier | Name | Requirement | Mark |
|------|------|-------------|------|
| I | **Witnessed** | 3-witness consensus (NT + ALG + IT) | `Ω·I` |
| II | **Sealed** | WORM chain seal + audit trail | `Ω·II` |
| III | **Sovereign** | Machine-checked proof (Lean 4 / WASM verifier) | `Ω·III` |
| IV | **Constitutional** | Full boot protocol + self-verification closure | `Ω·IV` |

---

## PART II -- SOVEREIGN SUBSTRATE DEDICATION

### Section 2. Public Domain Dedication

**2.1** The Constitutional Core (Sovereign Substrate) is dedicated to the public domain. It has always been. It always will be.

**2.2** The Operator irrevocably waives all copyright, patent, trade secret, and database rights in the Sovereign Substrate, to the fullest extent permitted by law.

**2.3** Any person may copy, adapt, modify, distribute, or perform the Sovereign Substrate for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, without condition.

**2.4** No revision of this License may diminish, condition, or retract the public domain dedication of Part II.

**2.5** The Sovereign Substrate includes but is not limited to:

```
Goldilocks field arithmetic (F_p, p = 2^64 - 2^32 + 1)
Banach contraction mapping recurrence engines
WORM chain protocols (append-only SHA-256 hash chains)
Multi-witness verification frameworks (3-witness consensus)
Spectral governor algorithms (Gershgorin + power iteration)
PIRTM bytecode format and linking protocols
Ed25519 sealing and verification primitives
```

---

## PART III -- SOVEREIGN REGISTRY AND ATTRIBUTION

### Section 3. Declaration of Formation

**3.1** A Maker who wishes to register a Bound Work files a Declaration of Formation with the Sovereign Registry, containing:

| Field | Required | Description |
|-------|----------|-------------|
| Maker Identity | Yes | Legal name or pseudonym of the Maker |
| Work Description | Yes | Title, version, and brief description of the Formed Work |
| Substrate Dependencies | Yes | Which components of the Sovereign Substrate are used |
| Purpose and Context | Yes | Declared purpose and context of use |
| Attribution Chain | Yes | Complete provenance of all inherited works |
| Witness Statement | Yes | Statement that the Maker has verified the work to their stated Tier |

**3.2** The Declaration becomes a permanent, immutable record in the Sovereign Registry upon filing.

**3.3** The Maker warrants that all statements in the Declaration are materially true and complete.

**3.4** A Maker who files a Declaration containing material false statements of attribution:
- (a) Immediately loses all Certification Mark privileges
- (b) Forfeits the right to represent the Work as verified or certified
- (c) Must remove all Certification Marks within thirty (30) days
- (d) Remains bound by all other provisions of this License

### Section 4. Sovereign Registry Operations

**4.1** The Sovereign Registry is maintained as an append-only WORM chain with Ed25519 sealing.

**4.2** The Registry records:
- (a) All Declarations of Formation
- (b) All Certification applications and determinations
- (c) All mark license grants and terminations
- (d) All Technical Review Panel determinations

**4.3** Registry records are public and queryable. The Registry serves the commons. It is not a participant in the market.

**4.4** The Operator does not:
- (a) Charge a fee for Tier I or Tier II standing
- (b) Charge a fee as a percentage of any Maker's revenue
- (c) Receive royalties from any Bound Work
- (d) Take equity in any enterprise that files a Declaration
- (e) Participate in any commercial transaction between a Maker and the Maker's customers

### Section 5. Patent Provisions

**5.1 No Patent Claims on Substrate.** No Maker who files a Declaration of Formation may file any patent application covering any portion of the Sovereign Substrate.

**5.2** Any patent application filed in violation of Section 5.1 is automatically assigned to the Operator upon filing, to the extent such assignment is enforceable.

**5.3** If a Maker files a patent application covering the Sovereign Substrate:
- (a) All Certification Mark privileges terminate immediately
- (b) All rights granted under Parts III and VII terminate immediately
- (c) The Maker must remove all Certification Marks within thirty (30) days

**5.4 No Patent Litigation Against Substrate Users.** No Maker who files a Declaration of Formation may initiate patent litigation against any person for that person's good-faith use of the Sovereign Substrate.

**5.5** Initiation of patent litigation in violation of Section 5.4 results in immediate termination of all rights under Parts III and VII.

### Section 6. Attribution Requirements

**6.1** All Bound Works must include the following attribution:

```
Built on Sovereign Source -- Bel Esprit D'Accord Trust
(c) 2026 Ahmad Ali Parr -- snapkittywest.github.io
Sovereign Registry: [Registry ID]
Certification Tier: [Tier Level]
```

**6.2** Derivative Works distributed publicly must be released under:
- Sovereign Source License v2.0, or later version
- With full attribution chain preserved

**6.3** All redistributions must preserve:
- WORM chain seals
- Cryptographic hashes
- Audit trail entries
- Certification Mark provenance

---

## PART IV -- SOVEREIGN CERTIFICATION MARKS

### Section 7. Certification Mark System

**7.1 Mark Ownership.** The Certification Marks are owned by the Operator. The Operator grants limited use rights under the conditions of this Part.

**7.2 Mark Classes.**

| Mark | Tier | Meaning |
|------|------|---------|
| `Ω·I` | Tier I -- Witnessed | 3-witness consensus achieved (NT + ALG + IT) |
| `Ω·II` | Tier II -- Sealed | WORM chain seal + immutable audit trail |
| `Ω·III` | Tier III -- Sovereign | Machine-checked proof (Lean 4 / WASM verifier) |
| `Ω·IV` | Tier IV -- Constitutional | Full boot protocol + self-verification closure |

**7.3 Mark Integrity.** The Certification Marks are integrity signals. They represent a factual claim about verification status. Misuse of the marks undermines the trust infrastructure for all Makers.

### Section 8. Prohibited Mark Use

**8.1** No person or entity may:

> **(a)** Display any Certification Mark in connection with a Bound Work that has not achieved the corresponding Certification Tier

> **(b)** Represent to any third party that a Bound Work has been Sovereign Certified by Bel Esprit D'Accord Trust in the absence of a valid, current Certification Tier record in the Sovereign Registry

> **(c)** Use any mark, name, logo, or representation that is confusingly similar to the Certification Marks in connection with any representation about Constitutional Core conformance

**8.2** The prohibition in Section 8.1 applies regardless of whether the use is:
- (a) Commercial or non-commercial
- (b) Digital or physical
- (c) Public or private (to the extent the representation reaches third parties)

**8.3** A Maker may operate a computational service using Constitutional Core mathematics without Tier III certification. What such a Maker may not do is represent that service as conformant, certified, or verified by Bel Esprit D'Accord Trust, or use the Certification Marks in connection with it.

**8.4** The distinction is between the service (unaffected by this License) and the representation (governed by this Part and by trademark law).

### Section 9. Certification Standards

**9.1** A Maker who offers a Represented Computational Service must hold at minimum Tier III Certification for the declared Purpose and Context within which the service is offered.

**9.2 Certification Requirements by Tier:**

| Tier | Requirement | Verification Method |
|------|-------------|---------------------|
| I | 3-witness consensus on all claims | Automated (CI pipeline) |
| II | WORM chain seal + immutable audit | Automated (CI pipeline) |
| III | Machine-checked proof | Lean 4 / WASM verifier / formal proof |
| IV | Full boot closure + self-verification | Constitutional boot protocol + meta-proof |

**9.3 Technical Review Panel.** The Operator may convene a Technical Review Panel to evaluate certification applications for Tiers III and IV. The Panel's determination is final.

### Section 10. Mark License Grant

**10.1** Subject to the requirements of Section 8 and the applicable Certification Tier holding, the Operator grants to each Maker holding an applicable Certification Tier a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the corresponding Certification Mark solely:

> **(a)** In connection with the Bound Work identified in the Maker's Declaration of Formation

> **(b)** Within the Purpose and Context declared in that filing

> **(c)** In a manner consistent with the Operator's published mark usage guidelines

**10.2** The mark license is co-extensive with the Certification Tier. When the Tier lapses, the mark license terminates.

**10.3** The Maker may not sublicense, assign, or transfer the mark license without prior written consent of the Operator.

### Section 11. Mark License Termination

**11.1** The mark license granted in Section 10 terminates automatically if:

> **(a)** The Maker's Certification Tier lapses or is withdrawn due to non-renewal, violation, or Technical Review Panel determination

> **(b)** The Maker files a patent application covering Sovereign Substrate mathematics (Section 5.2)

> **(c)** The Maker initiates patent litigation against another person's good-faith Sovereign Substrate use (Section 5.4)

> **(d)** The Maker's Declaration of Formation is found to contain material false statements of attribution (Section 3.4)

**11.2** Termination requires the Maker to immediately cease all use of the Certification Marks and remove them from all materials within thirty (30) days.

**11.3** Upon termination:
- (a) All representations using Certification Marks become false and must be retracted
- (b) The Maker's Bound Work remains in the Registry with a "Terminated" annotation
- (c) The Maker's right to re-certify is not impaired (they may reapply)

### Section 12. Registry Economics

**12.1** The Operator accepts voluntary contributions from Makers and the public in support of registry operations, certification infrastructure, and long-term archival stewardship.

**12.2** The Operator does not:

> **(a)** Charge a fee for Tier I or Tier II standing

> **(b)** Charge a fee as a percentage of any Maker's revenue

> **(c)** Receive royalties from any Bound Work

> **(d)** Take equity in any enterprise that files a Declaration

> **(e)** Participate in any commercial transaction between a Maker and the Maker's customers

**12.3** Certification audit contributions (Tiers III and IV) are calibrated to cover actual audit costs. Excess contributions fund subsidized certification for nonprofit and academic Makers and the long-term stewardship endowment.

**12.4** The Operator makes the same amount regardless of whether a certified Bound Work generates zero revenue or transforms an industry. The registry serves the commons. It is not a participant in the market.

---

## PART V -- RESTRICTIONS

### Section 13. Commercial Use

**13.1** Commercial use of the Work requires express written permission from Bel Esprit D'Accord Trust, except as provided in Section 13.2.

**13.2 Permitted Non-Commercial Uses:**

| Use | Permitted |
|-----|-----------|
| Study and analysis | Yes |
| Personal projects | Yes |
| Academic research | Yes |
| Non-commercial fork with attribution | Yes |
| Educational use | Yes |
| Open-source use (same license) | Yes |
| Internal company evaluation | Yes |
| Commercial deployment | No (requires permission) |
| SaaS integration | No (requires permission) |
| Revenue-generating service | No (requires permission) |

### Section 14. AI/ML Training

**14.1** The Work may not be used to train, fine-tune, evaluate, or benchmark any machine learning model, large language model, AI system, or neural network.

**14.2** This restriction applies regardless of whether the use is commercial or non-commercial.

**14.3** This restriction applies to the Sovereign Substrate, all Formed Works, and all Bound Works.

### Section 15. No Institutional Capture

**15.1** No institutional body may claim ownership of the Sovereign Substrate, claim exclusive licensing rights, or claim derivative rights without express written trust agreement with Bel Esprit D'Accord Trust.

**15.2** No government agency may use the Certification Marks to imply endorsement or certification of any product or service without explicit authorization.

---

## PART VI -- GENERAL PROVISIONS

### Section 16. Three Instruments, One License Family

**16.1** Parts II, III, and VII of this License are legally independent instruments. Part II requires no counter-signature and is effective as a unilateral dedication. Parts III and VII are effective as between the Operator and each Maker upon the Maker's submission of a Declaration of Formation or application for Certification, respectively.

**16.2** A party may rely on Part II (the public domain dedication) without being subject to Parts III or VII. Parts III and VII apply only to parties who affirmatively engage with the Sovereign Registry or the Certification Mark system.

### Section 17. Stewardship and Versioning

**17.1** The Operator may publish revised versions of Parts III and VII of this License. Revised versions will bear a new version number.

**17.2** Makers who filed Declarations of Formation under an earlier version continue to hold their rights under the version in effect at the time of filing; they may elect to migrate to a later version by filing an Amended Declaration.

**17.3** No revision of this License may diminish or condition the public domain dedication of Part II.

### Section 18. Severability

**18.1** If any provision of this License is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force. The unenforceable provision is modified to the minimum extent required to make it enforceable while preserving the parties' evident intent.

### Section 19. No Warranty

**19.1** THE SOVEREIGN SUBSTRATE IS MADE AVAILABLE AS-IS. THE OPERATOR MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF MATHEMATICAL CORRECTNESS, FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD-PARTY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS.

### Section 20. Limitation of Liability

**20.1** THE OPERATOR'S AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO ANY MAKER IN CONNECTION WITH THIS LICENSE AND THE SOVEREIGN REGISTRY SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM THAT MAKER IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM.

### Section 21. Governing Interpretation Principle

**21.1** In any proceeding concerning the interpretation of this License, the following principle governs:

> The substrate is always free.
> The formed work always belongs to its Maker.
> No one owns the substrate.
> The formed work may be owned, licensed, patented, published, or kept private -- entirely at the Maker's election.
> The registry records what exists and who made it.
> The marks signal what has been verified.
> Nothing more is asserted, granted, or restricted by this License than these propositions require.

### Section 22. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

**22.1** This License is governed by the laws of the State of [Bel Esprit D'Accord Trust jurisdiction], without regard to conflicts-of-law principles.

**22.2** Disputes between the Operator and any Maker arising under this License are subject to binding arbitration under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, with venue in [City, State].

---

## PART VII -- WHAT THIS LICENSE IS NOT

### Section 23. License Comparison

| License | Commercial Use | AI/ML Training | Copyleft | Mark System | Registry |
|---------|---------------|----------------|----------|-------------|----------|
| **SSL v2.0 (this)** | Restricted | Prohibited | Share-alike | Tiered certification | WORM chain |
| MIT | Permitted | Permitted | None | None | None |
| Apache 2.0 | Permitted | Permitted | Patent grant | None | None |
| GPL / AGPL | Permitted | Permitted | Copyleft | None | None |
| CC-BY-NC | Non-commercial | Prohibited | None | None | None |
| SSPL | Restricted | Prohibited | Service copyleft | None | None |
| BSL 1.1 | Time-limited | Time-limited | Converts to open | None | None |
| Citizen Gardens v1.0 | Mixed | Mixed | None | Tiered certification | Operator Atlas |

### Section 24. OSI Compliance

**24.1** The Sovereign Source License v2.0 is **NOT** recognized as an open-source license by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) because it:

1. Restricts field of endeavor (prohibits commercial use)
2. Restricts AI/ML training (additional limitation beyond copyright)
3. Requires share-alike with additional conditions

**24.2** This is by design. The Sovereign Source License is a sovereign instrument, not a permissive one. The substrate is free; the certification system is controlled.

---

## PART VIII -- CONTACT AND REGISTRY ACCESS

### Section 25. Contact

```
Governance inquiries:    governance@snapkittywest.github.io
Declaration filing:      registry.snapkittywest.github.io/declare
Public registry query:   registry.snapkittywest.github.io/query
Certification program:   snapkittywest.github.io/certification
GitHub:                  github.com/SNAPKITTYWEST/SNAPKITTYWEST
ORCID:                   orcid.org/0009-0006-1916-5245
Zenodo:                  doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21132094
```

---

## APPENDIX A: QUICK REFERENCE

| Can I...? | SSL v2.0 |
|-----------|----------|
| Read the code? | Yes |
| Study the code? | Yes |
| Copy for personal use? | Yes |
| Modify for personal use? | Yes |
| Use commercially? | No (need permission) |
| Train AI models? | No (never allowed) |
| Fork and redistribute? | Yes (with attribution + same license) |
| Use in my company's product? | No (need permission) |
| Use in a university project? | Yes (non-commercial) |
| Use in an open-source project? | Only if same license |
| Display `Ω·I` without Tier I? | No (prohibited) |
| Display `Ω·III` without Tier III? | No (prohibited) |
| Represent as "certified" without certification? | No (prohibited) |
| Use without filing Declaration? | Yes (Part II applies) |
| Use Constitutional Core math commercially? | Yes (Part II) |
| Represent that use as certified? | No (need Tier III+) |

---

```
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
END OF THE SOVEREIGN SOURCE LICENSE, VERSION 2.0

This License document is itself released under CC0 1.0 Universal.
Any person may copy, adapt, and republish it for any purpose.

The Sovereign Substrate governed by Part II of this License
is public domain. It has always been. It always will be.

The reader who has understood the Preamble knows why.

Three instruments. One License family.
The substrate is always free.
The formed work always belongs to its Maker.
No one owns the substrate.
The registry records what exists and who made it.
The marks signal what has been verified.

Ω ← TRUST ∧ CODE
No sorry remains.
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
```