HATS Conformance Testing License

DRAFT -- Subject to revision by legal counsel

1. Definitions

1.1 Defined Terms

For purposes of this Conformance Testing License ("License"), the following terms have the meanings set forth below:

"Canonical Test Vectors" means the set of input bundles, expected output values, and verification pass/fail determinations published by the Issuing Authority under the HATS standard at the path `standards/hats/test-vectors/v1/` or its successor location, including all vector versions published for the applicable major version of the HATS standard.

"Conformance Testing" means the process of executing an implementation of the HATS standard against the Canonical Test Vectors for the purpose of determining whether the implementation produces byte-identical outputs for all vectors in the applicable vector set.

"Derivative Implementation" means any software that implements the HATS specification, whether in whole or in part, for the purpose of verifying HATS governance graphs, generating HATS-conformant receipts, computing canonical hashes, or performing any other operation defined in the HATS specification.

"HATS Marks" means the trademarks, service marks, and certification marks owned by H33.ai, Inc. associated with the HATS standard, including but not limited to "HATS," "HATS-certified," "HATS-conformant," and the HATS logo.

"Issuing Authority" means H33.ai, Inc. or its designated successor in the governance of the HATS standard.

"Licensee" means any person or entity that exercises rights granted under this License.

"Reference Implementation" means the HATS verifier implementation maintained by the Issuing Authority, which serves as the authoritative source for correct behavior when the specification text and test vectors are ambiguous or silent.

"Specification" means the HATS v1.0 technical specification, including all normative sections, the Frozen Protocol document, the Verifier Guarantees document, and all governance documents published by the Issuing Authority.

2. Grant of License

2.1 Test Vector License

Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, the Issuing Authority hereby grants to any Licensee a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual (for the duration of the applicable copyright), irrevocable license to:

(a) Use, copy, and distribute the Canonical Test Vectors for the purpose of Conformance Testing; (b) Incorporate the Canonical Test Vectors into automated test suites, continuous integration pipelines, and quality assurance processes; (c) Publish the results of Conformance Testing, including pass/fail determinations and any discrepancies identified; (d) Modify the Canonical Test Vectors for internal testing purposes, provided that modified vectors are not represented as Canonical Test Vectors of the HATS standard.

2.2 Commercial Use

This License expressly permits commercial use of the Canonical Test Vectors without royalty payment. Licensees may incorporate Conformance Testing into commercial products and services, including but not limited to:

(a) Commercial HATS verifier implementations; (b) Governance-as-a-service platforms; (c) Compliance automation tools; (d) Audit and assessment software; (e) Security testing and validation services.

No royalty, license fee, or revenue share is owed to the Issuing Authority for commercial use of the Canonical Test Vectors under this License.

2.3 Specification License

The Issuing Authority grants Licensees a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to implement the HATS Specification in software, subject to the trademark restrictions in Section 6. This license includes the right to:

(a) Create Derivative Implementations in any programming language; (b) Distribute Derivative Implementations in source or binary form; (c) Use the Specification as the basis for internal compliance processes; (d) Create educational and training materials that reference the Specification.

3. Derivative Implementation Rights

3.1 Permitted Derivative Works

Licensees may create, distribute, and commercialize Derivative Implementations without prior approval from the Issuing Authority, subject to the following conditions:

(a) The Derivative Implementation shall not be represented as the Reference Implementation or as endorsed by the Issuing Authority, unless the Issuing Authority has provided written endorsement; (b) The Derivative Implementation shall be clearly identified as an independent implementation, with the Licensee's name or organization identified as the author or maintainer; (c) If the Derivative Implementation claims conformance with the HATS standard, it must satisfy the requirements of Section 4.

3.2 Open-Source Encouragement

The Issuing Authority encourages Licensees to release Derivative Implementations under open-source licenses. Nothing in this License requires open-source distribution, but the Issuing Authority expressly supports and welcomes open-source implementations in all programming languages.

3.3 No Patent License

This License does not grant any license under patents owned or controlled by H33.ai, Inc. or any third party. Licensees are solely responsible for obtaining any patent licenses necessary for their implementations. The Issuing Authority makes no representation regarding whether implementation of the Specification requires any patent license.

4. Conformance Claims

4.1 Requirements for "HATS-conformant" Claims

A Licensee or any party may publicly claim that an implementation is "HATS-conformant" only if:

(a) The implementation has been tested against the complete set of Canonical Test Vectors for the applicable major version; (b) The implementation produces byte-identical outputs for one hundred percent (100%) of the Canonical Test Vectors; (c) The Licensee maintains records of the test execution, including the vector version, date of testing, and hash of the test vector set used; (d) The Licensee re-validates conformance within ninety (90) calendar days of any new minor version release that includes additional test vectors.

4.2 Partial Conformance

An implementation that passes fewer than one hundred percent (100%) of the Canonical Test Vectors shall not be described as "HATS-conformant." The implementation may be described as "implementing HATS" or "based on HATS" provided that the specific limitations are disclosed in the same context as the claim (e.g., "implements HATS graph verification but does not support federation checkpoints").

4.3 Scope of Conformance

Conformance claims shall specify the proof profile(s) against which conformance was validated. At minimum, conformance with the HATS-PROOF-HASH-ONLY-v1 profile is required for any conformance claim, consistent with FROZEN-PROOF-001.

4.4 Conformance Verification by Issuing Authority

The Issuing Authority reserves the right to independently verify any public conformance claim. If the Issuing Authority determines that a conformance claim is not supported by test results, the Issuing Authority may:

(a) Request that the claimant provide test execution records within thirty (30) calendar days; (b) If records are not provided or are insufficient, publish a notice that the claim has not been verified; (c) In cases of willful misrepresentation, invoke the enforcement provisions of Section 7.

5. Attribution Requirements

5.1 Required Attribution

Licensees who distribute the Canonical Test Vectors, or Derivative Implementations that include the Canonical Test Vectors, shall include the following attribution notice in a prominent location (e.g., README, LICENSE file, or documentation):

"HATS test vectors copyright H33.ai, Inc. Licensed under the HATS Conformance Testing License. HATS is a standard published by H33.ai, Inc."

5.2 Specification Attribution

Derivative Implementations that claim conformance with the HATS standard shall include a reference to the applicable version of the Specification, including the version number and date.

5.3 No Implied Endorsement

Attribution shall not be construed as endorsement by the Issuing Authority. Licensees shall not state or imply that the Issuing Authority has endorsed, certified, or approved their implementation solely by virtue of attribution.

6. Trademark Restrictions

6.1 Permitted Use of HATS Marks

Licensees may use the HATS Marks solely for the purpose of:

(a) Accurately describing the relationship between their implementation and the HATS standard (e.g., "implements HATS v1.0," "compatible with HATS"); (b) Reporting conformance test results, where the requirements of Section 4 are satisfied; (c) Educational, academic, and journalistic references to the HATS standard.

6.2 Prohibited Use of HATS Marks

Licensees shall not:

(a) Use the HATS Marks in a manner that suggests ownership of, or authority over, the HATS standard by any entity other than the Issuing Authority; (b) Incorporate the HATS Marks into product names, service names, or company names without prior written approval from the Issuing Authority; (c) Use the certification mark "HATS-certified" without having obtained certification from a qualified assessor under the HATS Auditor and Assessor Independence Policy (HATS-GOV-006); (d) Register any trademark, domain name, or social media handle that is confusingly similar to the HATS Marks; (e) Use the HATS Marks in connection with products or services that are not related to the HATS standard in a manner that could cause confusion.

6.3 Distinction Between Conformance and Certification

"HATS-conformant" describes a technical property of an implementation (100% vector pass rate). "HATS-certified" describes an organizational certification achieved through the HATS assessment process. Licensees shall not conflate these terms.

7. Redistribution

7.1 Permitted Redistribution

Licensees may redistribute the Canonical Test Vectors in original or modified form, subject to the following:

(a) The attribution notice required by Section 5.1 is included; (b) Modified versions are clearly marked as modified and are not represented as the Canonical Test Vectors; (c) The original unmodified Canonical Test Vectors remain available from the Issuing Authority's distribution point.

7.2 No Sublicensing Restrictions

This License is self-propagating. Any recipient of the Canonical Test Vectors or Specification under this License receives the same rights and obligations as the original Licensee, without need for a separate license agreement.

8. No Warranty

8.1 Test Vectors Provided "As Is"

THE CANONICAL TEST VECTORS ARE 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, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE ISSUING AUTHORITY 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 CANONICAL TEST VECTORS OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE CANONICAL TEST VECTORS.

8.2 Reference Implementation as Authority

In the event of a discrepancy between the Canonical Test Vectors and the Reference Implementation, the Reference Implementation is authoritative. The Issuing Authority will update the Canonical Test Vectors to resolve any verified discrepancy but makes no representation regarding the timing of such updates.

8.3 No Guarantee of Completeness

The Issuing Authority does not warrant that the Canonical Test Vectors exercise all possible code paths, edge cases, or failure modes of the HATS specification. Conformance testing against the Canonical Test Vectors is necessary but may not be sufficient to ensure full specification compliance.

9. Vector Versioning and Updates

9.1 Right to Add Vectors

The Issuing Authority reserves the right to add Canonical Test Vectors in minor versions of the HATS standard. Addition of test vectors in a minor version is a non-breaking change.

9.2 Vector Stability

Within a major version, existing Canonical Test Vectors shall not be removed or have their expected outputs changed, consistent with the compatibility commitments in the HATS Standards Governance Model (HATS-GOV-001). New vectors may be added, and the total count may increase.

9.3 Version Identification

Each release of the Canonical Test Vectors shall include:

(a) A vector version identifier (e.g., "v1"); (b) A manifest file listing all vectors with their SHA3-256 hashes; (c) A total vector count; (d) A compatibility statement identifying the minimum standard version required.

10. Termination

10.1 Irrevocability

The license granted in Section 2.1 (Test Vector License) is irrevocable. Once Canonical Test Vectors have been published and distributed under this License, the license to those specific vectors cannot be revoked, even if this License is amended or replaced.

10.2 Trademark License Termination

The limited trademark license granted in Section 6.1 may be terminated by the Issuing Authority upon thirty (30) calendar days' written notice if the Licensee:

(a) Makes a materially false conformance claim that is not corrected within the cure period; (b) Uses the HATS Marks in violation of Section 6.2; (c) Engages in conduct that materially harms the reputation or integrity of the HATS standard.

10.3 Survival

Sections 5 (Attribution), 8 (No Warranty), and 10.1 (Irrevocability) survive termination of any other provision of this License.

11. General Provisions

11.1 Entire Agreement

This License constitutes the entire agreement between the Issuing Authority and any Licensee with respect to the use of the Canonical Test Vectors and conformance claims. No modification of this License is effective unless published by the Issuing Authority through the governance process defined in the HATS Standards Governance Model.

11.2 Severability

If any provision of this License is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. The invalid provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable.

11.3 Governing Law

This License shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict of laws principles.

11.4 No Waiver

Failure by the Issuing Authority to enforce any provision of this License shall not constitute a waiver of that provision or any other provision.

11.5 Contact

Questions regarding this License should be directed to: standard@h33.ai

HATS Conformance Testing License v1.0 -- H33.ai, Inc.