GENSoftware Freely Usable License

Use it anywhere, change it, ship it - just keep the notices.

Version 1.0 · Effective 10 August 2026 · Utilities, samples, and tools we publish for anyone to use.

These are the terms and conditions under which the Software is licensed. Please read them before using, copying, or distributing it.

Summary

In plain English: do what you like with it, including selling products built on it, as long as you keep our copyright notice and license text intact and accept that it comes with no warranty and no support obligation.

You may

  • Use it commercially, in production, at any scale
  • Copy, modify, and merge it into your own work
  • Distribute it and sublicense it to your customers
  • Keep your own changes private

You must

  • Keep the copyright notice and license text
  • State clearly where you have changed it
  • Accept it without warranty of any kind

You may not

  • Remove or obscure notices of authorship
  • Use the GEN or GENSoftware marks to endorse your product
  • Hold GENSoftware liable for any loss

This summary is provided for convenience only. It is not part of the license and does not modify it. The full terms below are what apply.

License Terms


1. Acceptance

By downloading, installing, copying, or otherwise using the Software you accept this license and agree to be bound by it. If you do not accept it you must not use the Software and must delete all copies in your possession. Where you accept this license on behalf of an organisation, you confirm that you have authority to bind that organisation to it.

2. Definitions

In this license the following terms have the meanings given below.

"GENSoftware" (also "we", "us", and "our") means GEN, trading as GENSoftware, the licensor of the Software.

"Software" means the program, script, library, extension, or other work supplied by GENSoftware under this license, including its source code where supplied, its object and executable forms, its configuration and data files, and its accompanying documentation.

"You" (also "your") means the individual or organisation exercising the rights granted by this license.

"Your Organisation" means the legal entity you belong to, together with any parent or subsidiary in which that entity holds more than fifty per cent (50%) of the voting interest.

"Distribute" means to supply, publish, transmit, sell, sublicense, or otherwise make available to any person outside Your Organisation, in original or modified form, whether or not for charge.

"Modification" means any change, addition, removal, adaptation, translation, or other derivative work based on the Software.

3. Grant of Rights

GENSoftware grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, and sublicense the Software, and to permit others to do the same, for any purpose including commercial purposes, subject to the conditions set out below. No fee, registration, or license key is required. The rights granted are irrevocable except as set out in the section on term and termination.

4. Permitted Use

You may install and run the Software on any number of systems and in any environment, including development, testing, staging, and production, whether operated by you or by a hosting provider on your behalf. You may use it for your own benefit or on behalf of your customers, embed it in your own products and services, and charge for those products and services. Nothing in this license requires you to publish your own source code or to license your own work on any particular terms.

5. Notices and Attribution

You must retain the copyright notice, this license text, and any file headers, NOTICE files, or attribution statements supplied with the Software in all copies or substantial portions of it, including copies you have modified. Where the Software forms part of a larger work, reproducing the notices in the documentation or "about" information of that larger work is sufficient. You must not remove, obscure, or alter any notice of authorship or ownership.

6. Modifications

You may modify the Software freely and you are not required to share your modifications with anyone. If you distribute a modified version you must state clearly that it has been changed and identify it in a way that does not suggest GENSoftware produced, endorses, or supports it. You are solely responsible for your modifications and for any support commitments you take on in respect of them.

7. Trade Marks

This license grants no rights in the GEN or GENSoftware names, logos, or other trade marks. You may use them only to identify the origin of the Software accurately, as required by the section on notices, and never in a way that suggests sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of your own product or service.

8. Third-Party Components

The Software may include or depend on components supplied by third parties. Those components are licensed under their own terms, which are set out in the documentation, the NOTICE file, or the dependency manifest supplied with the release. Where those terms conflict with this license in respect of a particular component, the third-party terms govern that component.

9. Contributions

You are encouraged to send fixes, improvements, and other beneficial changes to GENSoftware for inclusion in future releases. By submitting a contribution you confirm that you are entitled to submit it and that it is your own work or is properly licensed to you, and you grant GENSoftware a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, and distribute your contribution as part of the Software. You keep ownership of your contribution, and GENSoftware is under no obligation to accept or include it.

10. Support and Updates

This license places no obligation on GENSoftware to provide support, maintenance, training, or updates. Where fixes and security patches are published they are supplied under this license unless stated otherwise, and we recommend that you follow our release channels and apply them promptly. Commercial support and maintenance are available separately.

11. Security

If you discover a security vulnerability in the Software, please report it privately to GENSoftware before disclosing it publicly, so that a fix can be prepared for every user. Contact details are given on our Support pages. You must not use a vulnerability in the Software to obtain access to any system that is not your own.

12. Intellectual Property

GENSoftware retains all right, title, and interest in the Software, including all copyright and other intellectual property rights in it. This license grants you the rights expressly set out in it and no others; no rights are granted by implication or otherwise. Material you write yourself remains yours, subject to the rights of GENSoftware in the Software it builds upon.

13. Compliance with Law

You must comply with all laws that apply to your use of the Software, including data protection, export control, and sanctions legislation. You must not export, re-export, or make the Software available to any person or in any territory where doing so would breach an applicable trade restriction, and you must not use the Software for any unlawful purpose.

14. Term and Termination

This license takes effect when you first use the Software and continues indefinitely. It terminates automatically if you breach any of its terms and do not correct the breach within thirty (30) days of becoming aware of it. On termination you must stop using and distributing the Software and delete all copies, except that anything you distributed in compliance with this license before termination remains licensed to the recipient. The sections on definitions, intellectual property, warranty, liability, and general terms survive termination.

15. 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, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

GENSoftware does not warrant that the Software will meet your requirements, that it will operate without interruption or error, or that every defect will be corrected. You are responsible for satisfying yourself that the Software is suitable for your intended use, for testing it before you rely on it, and for maintaining backups and other safeguards appropriate to the value of your data.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, all terms and warranties implied by statute or common law are excluded from this license.

16. Limitation of Liability

IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES, OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF, OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

In particular, GENSoftware is not liable for loss of profit, loss of business, loss of revenue, loss or corruption of data, loss of goodwill, or for any indirect or consequential loss, however it arises.

Nothing in this license excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

17. General

This license is governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or in connection with it.

If any provision of this license is held to be invalid or unenforceable, it shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, and the remaining provisions continue in full force. A failure or delay in enforcing a provision is not a waiver of it.

This license, together with any written agreement you have signed with GENSoftware and any notices supplied with the Software, is the entire agreement between us in respect of the Software and replaces any earlier understanding. Where a signed agreement conflicts with this license, the signed agreement takes precedence.

GENSoftware may publish revised license terms for future releases. The terms supplied with a release govern that release; issuing a new version of this license does not change the terms of a release you already hold. You may not assign or transfer this license without our prior written consent, although GENSoftware may assign it as part of a transfer of its business or assets.


GENSoftware Freely Usable License, version 1.0, effective 10 August 2026. Copyright (c) 2026 GEN. All rights reserved.

How the Licenses Compare

  Free License Open Source License Mixed License Commercial License
Use inside your organisation Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Licensed Scope
Production use Yes Yes Yes Yes
Source code supplied Yes Yes Open parts No
Modify the Software Yes Internal only Open parts No
Redistribute or publish Yes No No No
Sell, sublicense, or resell Yes No No No
Fee payable None None Commercial parts Per Order
Support and maintenance Separate Separate Separate Per Order
Source treated as confidential No Yes Yes Not supplied
Notices must be retained Yes Yes Yes Yes

This table is a guide only. Where it differs from the license text, the license text applies.

Available Licenses

Free License

Utilities, samples, and tools we publish for anyone to use.

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Open Source License

Source-available products supplied to customers for internal use.

View Terms

Mixed License

Products whose source is supplied but which rely on licensed components.

View Terms

Commercial License

Paid products and components supplied under an order or agreement.

View Terms

Which license applies to my product?

The license that applies to a particular product is the one named in the LICENSE file supplied with it and shown on its download page. Different GENSoftware products are released under different licenses, and a single product may combine open and commercial parts under the Mixed License.

Where you have signed a separate written agreement with GENSoftware, that agreement takes precedence over the terms on this page. If you are unsure which license covers your use, or you need terms that differ from those published here, please get in touch before you rely on the Software.