# ACES legal framework

**Version 1.0 | Effective 5 November 2026**

ACES is an open, vendor-neutral specification-development project. Its specification is available under the Community Specification License 1.0. Both commercial and open-source implementations are permitted under the applicable terms. Consortium membership is not required to read the specification, implement it or submit a technical proposal.

## Specification

[ACES Specification v0.2.1, Word](spec/ACES-Specification-v0.2.1.docx)  
[ACES Specification v0.2.1, Markdown](spec/ACES-Specification-v0.2.1.md)

The specification is a technical working draft. The legal framework below is effective and applies to its publication and development; it is not conditional on completion of the technical standard.

## Licenses and patent terms

- [Community Specification License 1.0](LICENSE.md): the complete specification license, including patent grants, acceptance methods and exclusions.
- [Licensing and attribution](LICENSING.md): which material each license covers, attribution and implementer acceptance.
- [Working-group scope](Scope.md): the technical scope used by the patent provisions.
- [Notices and records](Notices.md): adoption, contributor acceptance, patent exclusions and other notices.
- [Apache License 2.0](LICENSES/Apache-2.0.txt): license for the designated JSON examples and preliminary schema.

## Membership, contributions and governance

- [Membership terms](MEMBERSHIP.md): acceptance of the legal framework as a condition of membership.
- [Contributor agreement](CONTRIBUTOR-AGREEMENT.md): the agreement accepted through membership or an authorized non-member contribution.
- [Contributing](CONTRIBUTING.md): submission and review procedure.
- [Governance](Governance.md): official specification decisions, review and approval.
- [Identity and certification policy](TRADEMARKS.md): honest compatibility statements, official branding and certification claims.

Membership incorporates contributor acceptance. An implementer seeking the CSL Section 2.1 patent grants must also follow a Section 2.1.3 acceptance route. The full licenses govern; this index does not replace them or guarantee freedom from third-party rights. No product certification is conferred by membership or by implementing a draft.

Coordination and legal notices: **info@aces-consortium.org**. Notices for which CSL requires a repository pull request or commit must follow the procedure in `Notices.md`.