License
Licensing terms for the Internet Object Specification, its examples, and its implementations.
The Internet Object Specification — the documentation text in this repository — is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-ND 4.0).
© 2020–2026 Mohamed Aamir Maniar / ManiarTech®. Internet Object™ is a trademark of ManiarTech®. The official specification is published at internetobject.org.
What this means
You are free to share the specification — copy and redistribute it in any medium or format, for any purpose, including commercially — under the following terms:
Attribution. You must give appropriate credit, link to the license, and indicate the official version. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the author endorses you or your use.
No derivatives. If you remix, transform, or build upon the specification, you may not distribute the modified material. The canonical text is maintained solely by the author so the format stays consistent across every implementation.
There are no additional restrictions beyond these — you may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Preferred attribution
When crediting the specification, use:
"Internet Object Specification" by Mohamed Aamir Maniar (ManiarTech®), licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0. Official version: https://internetobject.org.
Implementations are not derivatives
Building software that implements the format described here — a parser, validator, serializer, or any other tool — does not create a derivative work of the specification and is not restricted by CC BY-ND. The license covers the specification text, not the format it describes.
The reference implementations and libraries are licensed separately under the Apache License 2.0.
Examples are public domain
All example code and Internet Object snippets embedded in the specification are dedicated to the public domain under CC0 1.0. You may copy them into your own work freely, without restriction or attribution.
Translations
A translation is a derivative work (an adaptation) of the original English specification. Because the specification is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0, derivative works are not permitted by the license itself; the permission below is a separate, limited grant by the author.
Faithful translations are permitted, provided they:
are clearly marked as unofficial;
reproduce the specification faithfully, without adding to, removing from, or altering its meaning;
prominently link to the official English version above and identify it as authoritative; and
are not presented as the specification itself.
The original English text is the sole authoritative and normative version. In case of any discrepancy or conflict between a translation and the English original, the English version governs; translations are provided for convenience only and carry no normative force. The author reserves the right to designate official translations and to withdraw this permission for any translation that misrepresents the specification.
Full text
The complete legal text is in the LICENSE file at the root of the repository, and the canonical license is available from Creative Commons at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0.
Summary
Specification text
CC BY-ND 4.0
Share with attribution; no modified copies
Example snippets
CC0 1.0
Reuse freely, no attribution required
Implementations and libraries
Apache-2.0
Use, modify, and distribute under Apache terms
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