An open standard is only safe to adopt if nobody can quietly build a toll into it. This is the intellectual-property-rights policy the F-ACT Foundation intends to operate: contributions come in royalty-free, participants disclose relevant patents, and the standard stays free to implement. It follows the pattern set by the royalty-free policies of the W3C and OASIS.
Royalty-free by design
The standard is meant to be implemented by anyone without paying a fee. Contributions are accepted on the understanding that any resulting standard-essential rights are made available royalty-free to all implementers.
Disclose what you know
Anyone taking part who is aware of a patent or application they believe would be essential to implement a proposal is expected to disclose it, so the group can decide with the facts in front of it.
Contribute under the same terms
When you propose text, examples or test material, you licence that contribution so it can be published as part of the standard under the same open terms — CC BY 4.0 for the text, royalty-free for implementation.
No hidden tolls
The point of an open standard is that adopting it never becomes a trap. The policy exists to keep it that way: no participant can seed the standard with a claim and then charge for it later.
This is a standing policy — the patent pledge is a specific promise
Two things sit side by side. The patent pledge is a specific, irrevocable, royalty-free promise made now over the core claims behind F-ACT. This IPR policy is the ongoing rule for everything that comes after — how new contributions from participants are licensed as the standard evolves. The pledge covers what exists today; the policy keeps future work just as free.
Where this stands today
Being straight about it: the F-ACT Foundation is being established and its charter is not yet signed, so this policy describes the regime the Foundation will operate rather than a body of accepted third-party contributions that already exists. The current core rights are held by Society OS Pty Ltd, which has made the royalty-free pledge and intends to transfer stewardship of the standard to the Foundation. As contribution begins, this page is the basis on which it will be accepted.
See how participation works and what you would be agreeing to.
This page is a plain-language summary of intent, not a legal contract. The binding terms will be the Foundation charter and the contribution and patent commitments referenced from it. See also the licence and the patent pledge.