SOUL Legal

The Shared Open Universe Licence is a public licence intended for application to novels and other works of fiction to enable free creation and sharing of fan work. The text of the Shared Open Universe Licence is based on pre-existing public domain/CC0 content; what original work does reside in the text of the Shared Open Universe Licence is dedicated to the public domain under the CC0 Public Domain Dedication, excluding the term "Shared Open Universe Licence".

Nicholas Fletcher, the creator of the Shared Open Universe Licence (hereafter "the SOUL Writer"), is not a lawyer and does not provide legal services or legal advice. Distribution of this licence does not create a lawyer-client or other relationship. This licence is available on an “as-is” basis. The SOUL Writer gives no warranties regarding this licence, any material licenced under it, or any related information; the SOUL Writer disclaims all liability for damages resulting from its use to the fullest extent possible.

The term "Shared Open Universe Licence" is copyright Nicholas Fletcher and the SOUL logo is copyright Kendall Fletcher. Except for the limited purpose of indicating that material is shared under the Shared Open Universe Licence, the SOUL Writer does not authorize the use of the term "Shared Open Universe Licence" or the SOUL logo.

The SOUL Writer is not a party to this licence. Notwithstanding, the SOUL Writer may elect to apply the licence to material they publish and in those instances will be considered the "Creator". For the avoidance of doubt, the contents of this grey box does not form part of the Shared Open Universe Licence.

Shared Open Universe Licence, version 1.3

Statement of Purpose.

Section 1 – Definitions.

a. Fan Work means material subject to Copyright and Similar Rights that is derived from or based upon the Creative Content in the Original Work in a manner requiring permission under the Copyright and Similar Rights held by the Creator. Material that does not add new Creative Content is not considered Fan Work.
b. Copyright and Similar Rights means copyright and/or similar rights closely related to copyright including, without limitation, performance, broadcast and sound recording, without regard to how the rights are labeled or categorized. For purposes of the SOUL, the rights specified in Section 2(b)(1)-(2) are not Copyright and Similar Rights.
c. Effective Technological Measures means those measures that, in the absence of proper authority, may not be circumvented under laws fulfilling obligations under Article 11 of the WIPO Copyright Treaty adopted on December 20, 1996, and/or similar international agreements.
d. Exceptions and Limitations means fair use, fair dealing, and/or any other exception or limitation to Copyright and Similar Rights that applies to Your use of the Original Work.
e. Original Work means the artistic or literary work, database, or other material to which the Creator applied the SOUL.
f. Creative Content means the characters, settings, events, objects, groups and other narrative elements and ideas expressed a work. For purposes of the SOUL, text and images are not inherently Creative Content.
g. Licenced Rights means the rights granted to You subject to the terms and conditions of the SOUL, which are limited to all Copyright and Similar Rights that apply to Your use of the Original Work and that the Creator has authority to licence.
h. Creator means the individual(s) or entity(ies) granting rights under the SOUL.
i. Share means to provide material to the public by any means or process that requires permission under the Licenced Rights, such as reproduction, public display, public performance, distribution, dissemination, communication, or importation, and to make material available to the public including in ways that members of the public may access the material from a place and at a time individually chosen by them.
j. Identifying Elements means the title, logo and other elements unique to and identifying of the Original Work.
k. You means the individual or entity exercising the Licenced Rights under the SOUL. Your has a corresponding meaning.

Section 2 – Scope.

a. Licence grant.

1. Sharing Fan Works. Subject to the terms and conditions of the SOUL, the Creator hereby grants You a worldwide, royalty-free, non-sublicensable, non-exclusive, irrevocable licence to exercise the Licenced Rights in the Original Work to produce, reproduce, and Share Fan Work.

A. For the avoidance of doubt, the Creator does not grant You the right to Share the Original Work, in whole or in part.

2. Using Identifying Elements. Subject to the terms and conditions of the SOUL, the Creator hereby grants You a worldwide, royalty-free, non-sublicensable, non-exclusive, irrevocable licence to utilize the Identifying Elements in the Original Work in the process of exercising your Licenced Rights to Share Fan Work, subject to Section 2(a)(7).
3. Exceptions and Limitations. For the avoidance of doubt, where Exceptions and Limitations apply to Your use, the SOUL does not apply, and You do not need to comply with its terms and conditions.
4. Term. The term of the SOUL is specified in Section 5(a).
5. Media and formats; technical modifications allowed. The Creator authorizes You to exercise the Licenced Rights in all media and formats whether now known or hereafter created, and to make technical modifications necessary to do so. The Creator waives and/or agrees not to assert any right or authority to forbid You from making technical modifications necessary to exercise the Licenced Rights, including technical modifications necessary to circumvent Effective Technological Measures. For purposes of the SOUL, simply making modifications authorized by this Section 2(a)(5) never produces Fan Work.
6. Downstream recipients.

A. Offer from the Creator – Original Work. Every recipient of the Original Work automatically receives an offer from the Creator to exercise the Licenced Rights under the terms and conditions of the SOUL.
B. Additional offer from the Creator – Fan Work. Every recipient of Fan Work from You automatically receives an offer from the Creator to exercise the Licenced Rights in the Fan Work under the conditions of the version of the SOUL You apply to the Fan Work.
C. No downstream restrictions. You may not offer or impose any additional or different terms or conditions on, or apply any Effective Technological Measures to, the Original Work if doing so restricts exercise of the Licenced Rights by any recipient of the Original Work.

7. No endorsement. Nothing in the SOUL constitutes or may be construed as permission to assert or imply that You are, or that Your use of the Original Work is, connected with, or sponsored, endorsed, or granted official status by, the Creator or others designated to receive attribution as provided in Section 3(a)(1)(A)(i).

b. Other rights.

1. Moral rights, such as the right of integrity, are not licenced under the SOUL, nor are publicity, privacy, and/or other similar personality rights; however, to the extent possible, the Creator waives and/or agrees not to assert any such rights held by the Creator to the limited extent necessary to allow You to exercise the Licenced Rights, but not otherwise.
2. Patent and trademark rights are not licenced under the SOUL, except as stated in Section 2(a)(2).
3. To the extent possible, the Creator waives any right to collect royalties from You for the exercise of the Licenced Rights, whether directly or through a collecting society under any voluntary or waivable statutory or compulsory licensing scheme. In all other cases the Creator expressly reserves any right to collect such royalties.

Section 3 – Licence Conditions.

a. Attribution Requirement.

1. If You Share Fan Work, You must:

A. retain the following if it is supplied by the Creator with the Original Work:

i. identification of the creator(s) of the Original Work and any others designated to receive attribution, in any reasonable manner requested by the Creator (including by pseudonym if designated);
ii. a copyright notice;
iii. a notice that refers to the SOUL;
iv. a notice that refers to the disclaimer of warranties;
v. a URI or hyperlink to the Original Work to the extent reasonably practicable;

B. indicate the Original Work is licenced under the SOUL, and include the text of, or the URI or hyperlink to, the SOUL.

2. You may satisfy the conditions in Section 3(a)(1) in any reasonable manner based on the medium, means, and context in which You Share the Original Work. For example, it may be reasonable to satisfy the conditions by providing a URI or hyperlink to a resource that includes the required information.
3. If requested by the Creator, You must remove any of the information required by Section 3(a)(1)(A) to the extent reasonably practicable.

b. In addition to the conditions in Section 3(a), if You Share Fan Work You produce, the following conditions also apply.

1. You must apply the SOUL to Your Copyright and Similar Rights in the Fan Work.

A. The licence You apply must be the version of the SOUL applied to the Original Work or a later version.

2. You must include the text of, or the URI or hyperlink to, the version of the SOUL You apply. You may satisfy this condition in any reasonable manner based on the medium, means, and context in which You Share Fan Work.
3. You may not offer or impose any additional or different terms or conditions on, or apply any Effective Technological Measures to, Fan Work that restrict exercise of the rights granted under the version of the SOUL You apply.

Section 4 – Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability.

a. Unless otherwise separately undertaken by the Creator, to the extent possible, the Creator offers the Original Work as-is and as-available, and makes no representations or warranties of any kind concerning the Original Work, whether express, implied, statutory, or other. This includes, without limitation, warranties of title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, absence of latent or other defects, accuracy, or the presence or absence of errors, whether or not known or discoverable. Where disclaimers of warranties are not allowed in full or in part, this disclaimer may not apply to You.
b. To the extent possible, in no event will the Creator be liable to You on any legal theory (including, without limitation, negligence) or otherwise for any direct, special, indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive, exemplary, or other losses, costs, expenses, or damages arising out of the SOUL or use of the Original Work, even if the Creator has been advised of the possibility of such losses, costs, expenses, or damages. Where a limitation of liability is not allowed in full or in part, this limitation may not apply to You.
c. The disclaimer of warranties and limitation of liability provided above shall be interpreted in a manner that, to the extent possible, most closely approximates an absolute disclaimer and waiver of all liability.

Section 5 – Term and Termination.

a. The SOUL applies for the term of the Copyright and Similar Rights licenced here. However, if You fail to comply with the SOUL, then Your rights under the SOUL terminate automatically.
b. Where Your right to use the Original Work has terminated under Section 5(a), it reinstates:

1. automatically as of the date the violation is cured, provided it is cured within 30 days of Your discovery of the violation; or
2. upon express reinstatement by the Creator.

For the avoidance of doubt, this Section 5(b) does not affect any right the Creator may have to seek remedies for Your violations of the SOUL.
c. For the avoidance of doubt, the Creator may also offer the Original Work under separate terms or conditions or stop distributing the Original Work at any time; however, doing so will not terminate the SOUL.
d. Sections 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7 survive termination of the SOUL.

Section 6 – Other Terms and Conditions.

Section 7 – Interpretation.

a. For the avoidance of doubt, the SOUL does not, and shall not be interpreted to, reduce, limit, restrict, or impose conditions on any use of the Original Work that could lawfully be made without permission under the SOUL.
b. To the extent possible, if any provision of the SOUL is deemed unenforceable, it shall be automatically reformed to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, taking into account Creator's Statement of Purpose. If the provision cannot be reformed, it shall be severed from the SOUL without affecting the enforceability of the remaining terms and conditions.
c. No term or condition of the SOUL will be waived and no failure to comply consented to unless expressly agreed to by the Creator.
d. Nothing in the SOUL constitutes or may be interpreted as a limitation upon, or waiver of, any privileges and immunities that apply to the Creator or You, including from the legal processes of any jurisdiction or authority.