License

HCIP Protocol Specification License
- Free to use for research, education, and non‑commercial projects
- Commercial use requires written permission
- All proprietary implementations (engine, operators, meta‑stack) 
  remain exclusive during the pre‑patent filing period

# HCIP Protocol Specification License (Draft v1.0)
(Non‑Commercial, Research‑Safe, Pre‑Patent Protection License)

## 1. Purpose
This license governs the use of the HCIP Protocol Specification, 
including its conceptual framework, terminology, documentation, and 
structural descriptions. It is designed to allow research, education, 
and non‑commercial exploration, while preserving the author’s exclusive 
rights to proprietary implementations and commercial applications.

## 2. Permissions
Subject to the terms below, you are permitted to:

- Use the HCIP Protocol Specification for research, academic work, 
  teaching, analysis, and non‑commercial projects.
- Share unmodified portions of the specification with proper attribution.
- Reference the specification in publications, presentations, and 
  derivative academic work.
- Discuss, critique, or analyze the protocol in public or private 
  settings.

## 3. Restrictions
The following activities require prior written permission from the 
copyright holder:

- Commercial use of any part of the HCIP Protocol Specification.
- Commercial implementations, including software, engines, operator 
  systems, or derivative architectures.
- Integration of HCIP concepts into commercial products, services, or 
  platforms.
- Derivative frameworks intended for commercial distribution.

## 4. Proprietary Components
The following remain exclusive intellectual property of the author 
during the pre‑patent filing period:

- The HCIP engine
- All operators, including diagnostic, governance, temporal, symbolic, 
  and meta‑operators
- The meta‑stack, including internal logic, invariants, substrates, and 
  implementation details
- Any unpublished or private components of the HCIP architecture

No rights to these components are granted or implied.

## 5. No Derivative Implementations
You may not create, publish, or distribute:

- Modified versions of the HCIP Protocol Specification
- Alternative specifications claiming compatibility with HCIP
- Competing frameworks derived from HCIP terminology or structure

Academic commentary and analysis are permitted, but derivative 
implementations are not.

## 6. Attribution