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COPYING.md for the KhronosGroup/Vulkan-Docs project

Licenses

The Vulkan-Docs project uses several licenses.

  • The source files (in asciidoctor and other formats) for the Vulkan Specification, reference pages, and supporting documentation are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ("CC-BY").
  • Header files, scripts, programs, XML files, and other tooling used or generated as part of the build process is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.
  • There are a few remaining configuration files and scripts adopted from other open source projects, such as the 'optimize-pdf' script. Such files continue under their original copyrights.
  • Some generated, transient files produced during the course of building the specification, headers, or other targets may not have copyrights. These are typically very short asciidoc fragments describing parts of the Vulkan API, and are incorporated by reference into specification or reference page builds.

Users outside Khronos who create and post Vulkan Specifications, whether modified or not, should use the CC-BY license on the output documents (HTML, PDF, etc.) they generate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why are the HTML and PDF Specifications posted on Khronos' website under a license which is neither CC-BY nor Apache 2.0?

A: The Specifications posted by Khronos in the Vulkan Registry are licensed under the proprietary Khronos Specification License. Only these Specifications are Ratified by the Khronos Board of Promoters, and therefore they are the only Specifications covered by the Khronos Intellectual Property Rights Policy.

Q: Does Khronos allow the creation and distribution of modified versions of the Vulkan Specification, such as translations to other languages?

A: Yes. Such modified Specifications, since they are not created by Khronos, should be placed under the CC-BY license. If you believe your modifications are of general interest, consider contributing them back by making a pull request (PR) on the Vulkan-Docs project.

Q: Can I contribute changes to the Vulkan Specification?

A: Yes, by opening a PR on the KhronosGroup/Vulkan-Docs Github project. You must execute a click-through Contributor License Agreement, which brings your changes under the umbrella of the Khronos IP policy. We welcome feedback and proposed changes, but will not necessarily accept all such changes. Please keep PRs focused on solving a single problem; more ambitious PRs that try to solve multiple problems, or touch many parts of the Specification at once, are difficult for the Vulkan Working Group to review in a timely fashion.

Q: Can you change the license on your files so they're compatible with my license?

A: We've added an "Exceptions to the Apache 2.0 License" clause to the copyright on vk.xml, to make it more compatible with GPL-licensed software, such as externally-generated language bindings. This seems to have addressed the problems we're aware of. It is possible we could extend the Exception Clause to other Apache-licensed files in the project, or otherwise accommodate new needs of external projects; but working with the different Khronos member company IP lawyers to make license changes is a very slow process, constrained by the Khronos Member Agreement and IP Policy as well as by individual company concerns about their IP. Do not expect rapid changes in anything having to do with copyrights and licensing.