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What it does
W3C-20150513 is the 2015 revision of the W3C software and document license. It covers reference implementations, test suites, and sample code that W3C publishes alongside a web standard. It is permissive: you may use it commercially, modify it, and keep your own code closed. Three things have to travel with any copy you distribute. The full text of the W3C notice, in a place users of your copy can see it. Any pre-existing intellectual property notices or terms that came with the code. And a notice of any changes you made, written as a copyright statement that names the W3C material the code came from.
Details
You can embed a W3C reference parser or a test harness in a closed product and never publish your own source. The clause that catches teams is the change notice. If you edit a covered file, the copy you distribute has to carry a copyright statement saying it includes material derived from the named W3C document. That is a documentation duty, not a source duty: nothing forces you to publish your modified code, only to say it is modified and where it came from. For a hosted service you distribute nothing, so the practical work is recording the component and storing its text.
Pros
- Easy to drop into a closed, paid product. Procurement has seen this family hundreds of times.
- No copyleft on your own files. You keep your source private.
Cons
- The notice duty is easy to miss in a desktop, mobile, or container build. A web page is not a substitute for notices inside the artifact.
- Buyers who want an express patent grant will ask you to prefer Apache-2.0 over a short MIT-style text.
What it allows and requires
Choose a category to see the full grant in one scannable list. Permissions show what the license allows, limits show what it withholds, and obligations show the conditions your release process must satisfy.
Permissions
Commercial use
You may ship the code inside a paid product. The license does not restrict commercial use.
Modify
You may change the code, including keeping those changes private, unless a later obligation says otherwise.
Distribute
You may give copies to others. Distribution is what usually turns notice and source duties into real work.
Sublicense
You may include the code under your own product terms, so long as you still meet this license's conditions.
Private use
Use inside your company, including internal forks, does not by itself trigger distribution duties.
Limits
Hold liable
The authors disclaim warranty. Recipients cannot hold them liable for damages arising from the software, except where law forbids that disclaimer.
Use trademark
The license is not a trademark license. Names, logos and product marks stay with their owners unless a separate grant says otherwise.
Patent grant
The text does not grant patents. If buyers want an express patent grant, Apache-2.0 is the usual alternative.
Obligations
Include copyright
Keep the copyright line with every copy or substantial portion you distribute.
Include license
Keep the license text with every copy or substantial portion you distribute. A web page is not a substitute for notices inside a shipped artifact.
Give credit
W3C asks for a notice of the original software, a URI if available, and a description of modifications.
What W3C-20150513 requires when you ship
When a copy that includes W3C-20150513 code leaves your company, the grant is broad and the paperwork is easy to miss. Distribution here means an installer, a mobile binary, a container image, or an SDK another team embeds. Work this list against the artifact you actually hand over, not against a README. A hosted service that never gives out a copy still belongs on the record, but the notice duty does not fire until a copy exists.
You are meeting the notice condition when the full text of the W3C notice, plus any pre-existing notices that came with the code, sits where users of every copy you distribute can see it.
You are meeting the change condition when every file you edited carries a copyright statement saying it includes material derived from the named W3C document, on top of the original notice.
You are clear on trademarks when nothing in your product or your marketing suggests that W3C endorses it. The license grants no trademark rights.
You have nothing further to do for a hosted service, because the conditions attach to copies you hand to other people, not to running the code.
The duties named in W3C-20150513
The license text itself is short. These are the named conditions. They follow the code, including files you vendor into your own repository and transitive packages in the lockfile.
Include copyright
Keep the copyright line with every copy or substantial portion you distribute.
Include license
Keep the license text with every copy or substantial portion you distribute. A web page is not a substitute for notices inside a shipped artifact.
Give credit
W3C asks for a notice of the original software, a URI if available, and a description of modifications.
Things to be aware of
- A W3C test suite or reference parser is copied into a repository and the header comment is stripped by a formatter. That header is where the notice lives.
- Teams patch a reference implementation and ship it with no change note. Add one line at the top of each file you touched, and keep it there.
- The W3C Patent Policy is read as a patent grant in this license. It is not. The policy covers specifications, and this license grants no patent rights.
What the W3C Software Notice and Document License (2015-05-13) does not do
Search results often flatten W3C Software Notice and Document License (2015-05-13) into a slogan. These are the usual misreads. W3C-20150513 is a grant with conditions, not a permission to skip the paperwork below.
- the W3C Software Notice and License (2015) does not require you to publish your own source. Combining it with closed code is the point of the grant.
- the W3C Software Notice and License (2015) does not mean "no obligations." The copyright line and license text still have to travel with copies you hand to other people.
- It is not a patent license unless the text says so. MIT-family grants say nothing about patents.
How W3C-20150513 differs from nearby licenses
These licenses are often confused with W3C-20150513, but their release duties differ. Each row summarizes what the license requires when you ship. Open the linked page for the full checklist.
- W3C-20150513
- The W3C Software Notice and Document License is permissive. Keep the W3C notice, and mark any file you changed as changed before you distribute a copy.
- MIT
- MIT lets you ship the code inside a closed, paid product. The one condition is that the copyright line and license text travel with every copy.
- Apache-2.0
- Permissive like MIT, plus an express patent grant. The catch is the NOTICE file: it has to travel inside the binaries you ship.
- BSD-3-Clause
- Permissive like MIT, with one extra rule: you may not use the authors' names to promote your product. Notices travel with source and binaries.
Common questions about W3C Software Notice and Document License (2015-05-13)
Answers to common questions about what W3C Software Notice and Document License (2015-05-13) requires, when its duties apply, and what evidence belongs with a release.
What is the W3C Software Notice and Document License (2015-05-13)?
W3C-20150513 is the 2015 revision of the W3C software and document license. It covers reference implementations, test suites, and sample code that W3C publishes alongside a web standard. It is permissive: you may use it commercially, modify it, and keep your own code closed. Three things have to travel with any copy you distribute. The full text of the W3C notice, in a place users of your copy can see it. Any pre-existing intellectual property notices or terms that came with the code. And a notice of any changes you made, written as a copyright statement that names the W3C material the code came from.
What does W3C-20150513 require when you ship a product?
You are meeting the notice condition when the full text of the W3C notice, plus any pre-existing notices that came with the code, sits where users of every copy you distribute can see it. You are meeting the change condition when every file you edited carries a copyright statement saying it includes material derived from the named W3C document, on top of the original notice. You are clear on trademarks when nothing in your product or your marketing suggests that W3C endorses it. The license grants no trademark rights. You have nothing further to do for a hosted service, because the conditions attach to copies you hand to other people, not to running the code.
Does W3C-20150513 require me to open my own source?
It is not a patent license unless the text says so. MIT-family grants say nothing about patents.
How do I attribute W3C-20150513 in a product I ship?
Attribution for W3C-20150513 means the copyright line and the license text travel with every copy a recipient actually gets. That can be an about screen, a licenses file inside the installer, or a notice in the container image. A public page helps a buyer audit the inventory. It does not replace notices inside the artifact. If you copied files into your own repository, the header on those files still has to stay.
Is a website notice enough for W3C-20150513?
No. W3C-20150513 talks about copies. A public attestation page is the honest list for procurement. The condition is met when the notices sit in the material you hand over. Put them in the installer, the about screen, or a licenses file inside the binary, then keep the same texts on the page.
Do transitive W3C-20150513 dependencies count?
Yes. The condition follows the code, not the package you chose by name. If the lockfile pulled in W3C-20150513 transitively and you distribute that tree, those notices travel too. Listing only direct dependencies is how teams miss the duty.
How is W3C-20150513 different from MIT License?
W3C-20150513 asks this: The W3C Software Notice and Document License is permissive. Keep the W3C notice, and mark any file you changed as changed before you distribute a copy. MIT License asks this: MIT lets you ship the code inside a closed, paid product. The one condition is that the copyright line and license text travel with every copy. Open the MIT License page for what that license requires when you ship. Do not treat the SPDX ids as interchangeable because the short names look similar.
Where do I record W3C-20150513 for a buyer?
SourceTrust fetches the published artifact, extracts the license files inside it, and compares that text against the declared SPDX id. Only a confirmed match fills in the license text for you, so a W3C file whose header was stripped upstream lands as not found or unconfirmed and waits for a person. Nothing checks whether you added the change notice to the files you edited. That step is yours, and the record of it belongs in your own release process.
Where do I record W3C-20150513 for a buyer?
SourceTrust fetches the published artifact, extracts the license files inside it, and compares that text against the declared SPDX id. Only a confirmed match fills in the license text for you, so a W3C file whose header was stripped upstream lands as not found or unconfirmed and waits for a person.
Nothing checks whether you added the change notice to the files you edited. That step is yours, and the record of it belongs in your own release process.
Read /docs/reviewing-component for the review flow.
See also
The hub is the pillar for this cluster. Sibling licenses are the other spokes. Product FAQ links explain how SourceTrust records the duty, not the license text itself.
Practical guidance for procurement review, not legal advice. Confirm high-stakes use with counsel.