License

The Galileo Luxury Standard is released under the Apache License, Version 2.0. This page explains what this means for users, implementors, and contributors.

Why Apache 2.0?

The Apache License 2.0 was chosen because it provides the best balance of openness and protection for an industry standard:

Permissive— Anyone can use, modify, and distribute the standard without restriction, including in proprietary products.
Patent grant— Contributors automatically grant a royalty-free patent license, protecting implementors from patent claims.
No copyleft— Implementations are not required to be open source, which is essential for luxury brands with proprietary systems.
Industry standard— Apache 2.0 is widely understood and accepted by corporate legal teams.

What You Can Do

Use freely— Implement the Galileo specification in any product, commercial or non-commercial, without paying royalties.
Modify— Create extensions, profiles, or derived specifications tailored to your needs.
Distribute— Include the specification in your documentation, SDKs, or products.
Sublicense— Grant your customers the same rights under the Apache 2.0 terms.

What You Must Do

Include the license— Any distribution of the specification or substantial portions of it must include a copy of the Apache 2.0 license.
State changes— If you modify the specification, you must note that changes were made. You cannot present a modified version as the official Galileo standard.
Preserve notices— Retain all copyright, patent, trademark, and attribution notices from the original files.

What You Cannot Do

Use trademarks— The Apache 2.0 license does not grant permission to use the Galileo name, logo, or trademarks. Trademark usage requires separate authorization.
Hold contributors liable— The specification is provided "as is" without warranties. Contributors are not liable for any issues arising from the use of the standard.

Patent Grant

The Apache 2.0 license includes an express patent grant. Every contributor grants a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free patent license for any patents necessarily infringed by their contributions.

This means:

Implementors are protected from patent claims by contributors for functionality covered by the specification.
If a contributor initiates patent litigation related to their contribution, their patent license is automatically terminated.

For Luxury Brands

Apache 2.0 is well-suited for the luxury industry because:

You can build proprietary authentication systems on top of Galileo without open-sourcing your code.
Your competitors cannot gain special patent advantages through their contributions to the standard.
The license is stable and well-understood — no legal surprises.

Full License Text

The complete Apache License, Version 2.0 text is available at: apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0