# Palimpsest License Framework
## Protecting Creators in the Age of AI

**Website**: https://palimpsest-license.org | **Version**: 0.4 | **Bilingual**: Dutch (legal) / English (informative)

---

### What Is the Palimpsest License?

A **future-proof licensing framework** designed to protect creative work—especially narrative, trauma, cultural heritage, and symbolic expression—from exploitation by AI systems.

**Named "Palimpsest"** because creative work, like ancient palimpsests, carries layers of meaning: authorship, emotional context, cultural lineage, and symbolic significance. These layers must be preserved.

### The Problem

AI companies scrape creative work without:
- ✗ **Consent** from creators
- ✗ **Attribution** in AI outputs
- ✗ **Compensation** for use
- ✗ **Context** preservation (cultural, emotional, symbolic)

**Who's affected?**
- Diaspora writers and storytellers
- Trauma survivors sharing testimony
- Indigenous knowledge keepers
- Protest artists and activists
- Marginalised language communities
- Cultural heritage institutions

### Core Protections

#### 1. **Emotional Lineage**
Protects not just authorship, but the **emotional and cultural context** of your work.

*Example*: A protest song carries the history of a movement. AI can't strip that context and sell it back.

#### 2. **Layered Consent**
Distinguish between different types of AI use:
- **Interpretive AI** (allowed): Search, recommendation, accessibility tools
- **Non-Interpretive AI** (requires consent): Training generative models, commercial AI products

#### 3. **Quantum-Proof Traceability**
Attribution chains that can't be broken—even by future quantum computers.

#### 4. **DAO Governance**
Collective rights management for communities, not just individuals.

*Example*: A diaspora community collectively licenses their oral histories.

### What the License Requires

**Anyone using your work must:**
1. **Preserve attribution** (including emotional and cultural context)
2. **Preserve metadata** through all transformations
3. **Obtain explicit consent** for non-interpretive AI use
4. **Maintain derivative tracking** for all uses
5. **Respect emotional and symbolic texture**

**Violations include:**
- Stripping metadata (author, license, context)
- Using work for AI training without consent
- Removing emotional or cultural context
- Breaking attribution chains

### Who Should Use This License?

✓ **Individual creators** protecting their narrative work
✓ **Cultural heritage institutions** preserving context
✓ **Marginalised communities** controlling their stories
✓ **Protest movements** protecting resistance imagery
✓ **Trauma survivors** safeguarding testimony
✓ **Diaspora storytellers** preserving cultural lineage

### How It Works

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Your Creative Work                          │
│ ↓                                           │
│ Licensed under Palimpsest v0.4              │
│ ↓                                           │
│ Metadata embedded (attribution, context)    │
│ ↓                                           │
│ Consent signals (interpretive vs. non-)     │
│ ↓                                           │
│ AI systems must check consent               │
│ ↓                                           │
│ Derivatives preserve attribution chain      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

### Complementary with Creative Commons

Palimpsest **extends** rather than replaces CC licenses:

| Creative Commons | Palimpsest Adds |
|------------------|-----------------|
| Attribution (BY) | + Emotional lineage |
| Share-Alike (SA) | + AI derivative tracking |
| Non-Commercial (NC) | + Interpretive/non-interpretive distinction |
| Metadata (RDFa) | + Quantum-proof attribution chains |

**You can dual-license**: CC-BY-SA + Palimpsest v0.4

### Governance: Creator-Led

The **Palimpsest Stewardship Council** (7 members):
- **3 Creator Representatives** (majority control)
- 2 Legal Experts (IP law, Dutch/Scottish)
- 1 Technologist (AI ethics)
- 1 Cultural Heritage Advocate

**Decision-making**: Transparent, community input required, creator voices centred.

### Regulatory Alignment

- **EU AI Act**: Training data transparency
- **Digital Services Act**: Content traceability
- **UK Online Safety Act**: Platform obligations
- **UDHR Article 27**: Cultural rights
- **UNDRIP**: Indigenous peoples' rights

### Real Stories

> *"My family's migration story was scraped and used by a chatbot. The AI reproduced our trauma without understanding. Palimpsest gives me tools to say: this story is sacred."*
> — Elena, diaspora writer

> *"My protest art trained surveillance systems that now track activists. I need a license that says: interpretive use only, not for oppression."*
> — Kofi, activist artist

> *"Our indigenous stories ended up in commercial datasets. We had no consent process, no way to say no. This license changes that."*
> — [Indigenous knowledge keeper]

### How to Use

1. **Adopt the license**: Download from palimpsest-license.org
2. **Mark your work**: Include license text or link
3. **Embed metadata**: Use provided templates (HTML, JSON-LD, EXIF)
4. **Signal consent**: Specify interpretive-only or other permissions
5. **Join the community**: Connect with other creators

### Get Involved

**For Creators**:
- Adopt the license for your work
- Join creator community discussions
- Share your story and needs

**For Platforms**:
- Implement metadata preservation
- Respect consent signals
- Join pilot deployment program

**For Advocates**:
- Support creator justice campaigns
- Push for regulatory alignment
- Build coalitions across movements

### Resources

**Documentation**: https://palimpsest-license.org/guides
**License Text**: https://palimpsest-license.org/v0.4
**Community**: creators@palimpsest-license.org
**Support**: help@palimpsest-license.org

### Connect

**Mailing List**: community@palimpsest-license.org
**GitHub**: github.com/palimpsest-license
**Mastodon**: @palimpsest@social.coop (TBC)

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### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Is this legally enforceable?**
A: Yes—designed with Dutch law expertise, aligned with EU regulations. But it's also **symbolically meaningful** beyond strict legal enforcement.

**Q: Can I use this with Creative Commons?**
A: Absolutely! Dual-licensing is encouraged (e.g., CC-BY-SA + Palimpsest).

**Q: What if someone violates the license?**
A: Community support for enforcement, legal resources being developed, advocacy pressure on platforms.

**Q: Does this block all AI use?**
A: No—interpretive AI (search, recommendations, accessibility) is typically allowed. Non-interpretive AI (training generative models) requires consent.

**Q: Is there surveillance risk in attribution systems?**
A: Privacy-by-design: minimal personal data, optional anonymisation, no centralised tracking.

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*"A license born not just from copyright, but from care. From narrative debt. From cultural refusal. From emotional fidelity."*

**License**: This handout is CC-BY-SA 4.0 and Palimpsest v0.4 | **QR Code**: [Project website]
