Licensing

Two products, two licenses. Which one applies depends on the product, and for the Gateway, on who is running it.

Product	Who	Cost	How to get it
HotLoop Gateway	Individual, home, hobbyist, nonprofit, or education	Free	Self-host directly, no agreement needed
HotLoop Gateway	Any business or for-profit use, internal or customer-facing	Enterprise	Exclusively through Embernet
HotLoop Flow	Anyone, including businesses and commercial use	Free	Self-host directly under Apache-2.0, no agreement needed

The two products are licensed separately on purpose. HotLoop Gateway is source-available under the HotLoop Community License, which is not an OSI-approved open source license, and which is the text further down this page. HotLoop Flow is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0, which is an OSI-approved open source license with no business-use restriction. A business does not need Embernet, or anyone else's permission, to run HotLoop Flow.

The table above is the plain language version. For the Gateway, the legal text below is what actually decides things, so read it before you assume your use case is covered. It's kept in the HotLoop-io/HotLoop-io repo.

One note on history, so nobody finds it by surprise. Container images for earlier versions of what is now HotLoop Gateway, versions 4.0.0 through 4.3.1, were published publicly under Apache-2.0, along with the Helm chart packages released beside them. They remain available, and they remain under Apache-2.0. The HotLoop Community License applies to the Gateway from its first release under the HotLoop name onward. HotLoop Flow, first published as Emberwire, has been Apache-2.0 the whole time and is not changing.

HotLoop Community License, Version 1.0 (HotLoop Gateway)

Scope. This license governs HotLoop Gateway. HotLoop Flow is a separate product, licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0, and is not covered by this license.

This is a source-available license. It is not an OSI-approved open source license, because it restricts commercial and business use. Read it before you use, modify, or distribute HotLoop.

1. Definitions

"HotLoop" or "the Software" means the software distributed under this license, including its source code, binaries, configuration, and accompanying documentation.
"You" means the person or entity exercising rights under this license.
"Individual Use" means use of the Software by a natural person for personal, household, hobbyist, educational, or noncommercial community or nonprofit purposes. The Software must not be used by, for, or on behalf of any business or for-profit organization, and must not be used to generate revenue or to provide a commercial product or service to any third party.
"Business Use" means any use of the Software by, for, or on behalf of a business, company, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, or other for-profit entity, for any purpose whatsoever, including purely internal operations, regardless of whether the Software is resold, sublicensed, or exposed to anyone outside that entity, and regardless of whether a fee is charged.
"Embernet" means Embernet and its designated affiliates, the sole authorized commercial partner for Business Use of HotLoop.

2. Grant for Individual Use

Subject to the terms of this license, HotLoop grants You a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use, copy, modify, self-host, and distribute the Software, in original or modified form, solely for Individual Use. Any copy or substantial portion of the Software that You distribute must retain this license and all copyright notices.

3. Business Use Requires Embernet

No rights are granted under this license for Business Use. If You wish to use HotLoop in connection with any business or for-profit purpose, You must obtain it through Embernet's official Business/Enterprise offering, under a separate commercial agreement with Embernet. Embernet is the sole and exclusive authorized channel through which HotLoop may be obtained and used for Business Use. Deploying or operating the Software for Business Use without a commercial agreement with Embernet is not authorized, and is a violation of this license.

4. Trademarks

This license does not grant You any right to use the "HotLoop" name, logo, or branding, except as needed to accurately state that Your work is based on or derived from HotLoop. All trademark and branding rights are reserved.

5. Modifications and Redistribution

You may modify the Software for Your own Individual Use. If You redistribute the Software, whether modified or unmodified, You must do so under this same license, must retain all copyright and license notices, and must clearly document any changes You made.

6. Termination

Your rights under this license terminate automatically if You use the Software in violation of its terms, including any unauthorized Business Use. Reinstatement, if any, is at the sole discretion of HotLoop and Embernet.

7. No Warranty

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS," WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL HOTLOOP, ITS CONTRIBUTORS, OR EMBERNET BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES, OR OTHER LIABILITY ARISING FROM THE SOFTWARE OR ITS USE.

8. Questions

For a Business Use license, contact Embernet. For anything else, contact support@hotloop.io.

This license is a template written for HotLoop's specific business model. It has not been reviewed by a lawyer. Have it reviewed by qualified legal counsel before relying on it commercially.