<title>SQLite Copyright</title>
<tcl>hd_keywords {copyright} {public-domain} {license}</tcl>

<h2>SQLite Is Public Domain</h2>

<div class="rightsidebar desktoponly">
<center>
<img src="images/nocopy.gif"><br>
SQLite is in the<br>
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Domain | Public Domain]
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</div>

<p>
All of the code and documentation in SQLite has been dedicated to the
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Domain|public domain]
by the authors.
All code authors, and representatives of the companies they work for,
have signed affidavits dedicating their contributions to
the public domain and originals of
those signed affidavits are stored in a firesafe at the main offices
of <a href="https://www.hwaci.com">Hwaci</a>.
Anyone is free to copy, modify, publish, use, compile, sell, or distribute
the original SQLite code, either in source code form or as a compiled binary,
for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, and by any means.
</p>

<p>
The previous paragraph applies to the deliverable code and documentation
in SQLite - those parts of the SQLite library that you actually bundle and
ship with a larger application.  Some scripts used as part of the
build process (for example the "configure" scripts generated by autoconf)
might fall under other open-source licenses.  Nothing from these build 
scripts ever reaches the final deliverable SQLite library, however, and 
so the licenses associated with those scripts should not be 
a factor in assessing your rights to copy and use the SQLite library.
</p>

<p>
All of the deliverable code in SQLite has been written from scratch.
No code has been taken from other projects or from the open
internet.  Every line of code can be traced back to its original
author, and all of those authors have public domain dedications
on file.  So the SQLite code base is clean and is
uncontaminated with licensed code from other projects.
</p>

<tcl>hd_fragment notopencontrib {not open-contributin}</tcl>
<h2>Open-Source, not Open-Contribution</h2>

<p>
SQLite is open-source, meaning that you can make as many copies of it as
you want and do whatever you want with those copies, without limitation.
But SQLite is not open-contribution.  The project does not accept patches.
Only 27 individuals have ever contributed any code to SQLite, and of those
only 16 still have traces in the latest release.  
Only 3 developers have contributed
non-comment changes within the previous five years and 96.4% of the latest
release code was written by just two people.
(The statistics in this paragraph were gathered on 2018-02-05.)

<p>
Furthermore, all of the code in SQLite is original, having been written
specifically for use by SQLite.  No code has been copied from unknown
sources on the internet.

<p>
Many people associated "open-source" software with software that has
grow organically through contributions from countless individuals.
And, indeed, there is some open-source software that works that way.
But not SQLite.  SQLite uses the the
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cathedral_and_the_Bazaar|cathedral development philosopy]
not the bazaar approach.  All of the SQLite code has been written
by people who are well known to each other.

<tcl>hd_fragment warrantyoftitle {Warranty of Title}</tcl>

<div class="rightsidebar">
<form method="GET" action="https://www.hwaci.com/cgi-bin/license-step1">
<input type="submit" value="Buy An SQLite License">
</form>
</div>

<h2>Warranty of Title</h2>

<p>
SQLite is in the public domain and does not require
a license, some organizations want legal proof of their right to use
SQLite. Some reasons
for obtaining a license include:
</p>

<ul>
<li> Your company desires warranty of title and/or
     indemnity against claims of copyright infringement.
<li> You are using SQLite in a jurisdiction that does not recognize
     the public domain.  </li>
<li> You are using SQLite in a jurisdiction that does not recognize
     the right of an author to dedicate their work to the public
     domain. </li>
<li> You want to hold a tangible legal document
     as evidence that you have the legal right to use and distribute
     SQLite. </li>
<li> Your legal department tells you that you have to purchase a license.
     </li>
</ul>

<p>
If you feel like you really need to purchase proof of your right
to use SQLite,
<a href="https://www.hwaci.com/">Hwaci</a>, the company that employs 
all the developers of SQLite, will 
<a href="https://www.hwaci.com/cgi-bin/license-step1">sell you
a Warranty of Title</a>.
A Warranty of Title is a legal document that asserts that the claimed
authors of SQLite are the true authors, and that the authors 
have the legal right to dedicate the SQLite to the public domain, and 
that Hwaci will vigorously defend against challenges to those claims.
All proceeds from the sale of SQLite Warranties of Title are used to fund
continuing improvement and support of SQLite.
</p>

<h2>Contributed Code</h2>

<p>
In order to keep SQLite completely free and unencumbered by copyright,
the project does not accept patches.  If you would like to make a
suggested change, and include a patch as a proof-of-concept, that would
be great.  However please do not be offended if we rewrite your patch
from scratch.
