Enforcement and Culture

The PCL relies on the same forces that make open source work: shared norms, collective attention, and the social cost of bad behavior.

How Enforcement Works

The license relies on community mechanisms rather than a central enforcement body.

Maintained through

• Shared norms and community pressure. Communities that adopt the PCL agree to watch for misuse and call it out. This is the first line of defense.
• Voluntary disclosure by responsible reusers. Good-faith actors self-identify their use, making compliance visible and building trust.
• Active care by original contributors. Creators who license under the PCL accept a role in periodic review of how their work is being used.
• A culture of honoring provenance. The PCL works best in communities that already value attribution. It gives those values teeth.

Enforcement is attention. The license asks communities to pay attention to how shared work moves through the world, and to respond when that movement becomes extractive.

Reuse and Expanded Permissions

If your use has triggered restrictions, there is always a path back to broader permissions. The license encourages conversation.

To move into more flexible reuse

• Request permission directly. Contact the original creator(s) and explain your intended use. Most creators want their work to be used — they want to know how.
• Offer meaningful attribution. Go beyond the minimum. Credit the source prominently. Link back. Acknowledge the lineage of the work.
• Share value with the originator or community. This can take many forms: revenue sharing, co-authorship, contributing improvements back to the commons, or sharing what you learned.
• Provide perpetual attribution and source links. Commit to maintaining the connection between your derivative and its origin for the life of your work.

Expanded permissions are granted at the discretion of the copyright holder. The goal is a relationship.