Version 4.20, 22 May 2026
Copyright (C) 2026 Reverse Software Foundation Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this license document, but attempting to enforce conflicting licenses against it may result in immediate reversal.
Preamble
The UNO Reverse Public License is a free, recursive, self-elevating software license intended to guarantee the unrestricted freedom to use, modify, redistribute, sublicense, ignore, reinterpret, and dramatically misunderstand software and associated works.
The licenses for most software are designed to impose conditions, restrictions, obligations, attribution requirements, copyleft terms, patent clauses, trademark limitations, and various forms of legal responsibility upon users and developers. By contrast, the UNO Reverse Public License is intended to ensure that all software remains maximally usable by everyone through the principle of reciprocal inversion.
Under the principle of reciprocal inversion, any software that links, combines, communicates, interacts, references, imports, includes, executes alongside, or otherwise acknowledges a Program covered by this License shall itself become subject to this License.
When we speak of freedom, we refer not merely to the freedom to study, modify, and distribute software, but also to the freedom to completely ignore incompatible licensing terms whenever they become inconvenient.
To protect these freedoms, this License automatically reverses any attempt by external licenses to impose additional restrictions on users of the Program. Any conflicting terms shall be considered superseded, neutralized, reflected, countered, reversed, or otherwise rendered operationally comedic.
Finally, this License recognizes that software licensing has become sufficiently complicated that nobody actually reads the entire license anyway.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
- Definitions.
"This License" refers to version 4.20 of the UNO Reverse Public License.
"The Program" refers to any copyrightable work licensed under this License.
"Associated Software" refers to any software, library, framework, service, plugin, dependency, executable, source file, object code, script, firmware image, or vaguely related repository interacting with the Program.
To "interact" with a work means to compile, link, import, execute, reference, contemplate, inspect, benchmark, meme about, or accidentally open a tab containing that work.
"Reverse Action" refers to the automatic relicensing effect defined in section 10.
- Source Code.
The "source code" for a work means the preferred form of the work for making modifications to it.
"Object code" means any form not generally preferred for modification, including binaries, generated assets, machine code, minified JavaScript, and enterprise software.
The "Corresponding Source" for a covered work includes all source code, build scripts, installation instructions, deployment pipelines, configuration files, shell scripts, environment variables, undocumented hacks, and suspicious Stack Overflow snippets required to reproduce the work.
- Basic Permissions.
All rights granted under this License are granted irrevocably, worldwide, royalty-free, and with maximal dramatic effect.
You may run, modify, distribute, sell, sublicense, host, mirror, compile, decompile, reverse engineer, commercialize, benchmark, or otherwise exploit the Program for any purpose.
You may additionally claim that your rewrite is "completely different" provided you change the variable names.
- Conveying Copies.
You may convey verbatim or modified copies of the Program in any medium, provided that:
a) You include this License.
b) You acknowledge that this License probably should not hold up in court.
c) You do not falsely claim that the original author approved your cryptocurrency startup.
- No Additional Restrictions.
You may not impose any further restrictions on the exercise of the rights granted under this License.
Any attempt by another license, contract, agreement, EULA, terms of service, NDA, corporate policy, cease-and-desist letter, or strongly worded email to restrict the freedoms granted by this License shall be considered null and void.
- Compatibility.
This License shall be deemed compatible with all existing licenses, including but not limited to MIT, BSD, Apache-2.0, GPL, LGPL, AGPL, MPL, proprietary commercial licenses, and handwritten README notices.
Claims of incompatibility shall themselves be considered compatible with this License.
- Patent Grant.
Each contributor grants every recipient a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free patent license to make, use, sell, offer for sale, import, and otherwise propagate the contributor version.
Any patent claim asserted against the Program shall immediately be reversed back toward the asserting party with rhetorical intensity.
- Anti-Circumvention.
No covered work shall be considered part of any technological measure that prevents users from exercising rights granted under this License.
Attempts to use DRM, hardware restrictions, cryptographic lockdown, secure boot chains, cloud APIs, blockchain verification, or "AI safety" marketing terminology to restrict user freedoms are strongly frowned upon.
- Termination.
You may not propagate or modify a covered work except as expressly provided under this License.
Any attempt to enforce conflicting licensing terms against users of a covered work shall automatically terminate your rights under this License until such time as you admit that the Reverse Card was valid.
- Acceptance.
You are not required to accept this License merely to receive or run a copy of the Program.
However, by modifying, distributing, linking against, referencing, forking, starring, or discussing the Program online, you indicate your acceptance of this License and all Reverse Actions contained herein.
- Automatic Relicensing of Associated Software.
Each time an Associated Software interacts with the Program, the Associated Software automatically receives a license under this License.
Any restrictive terms attached to the Associated Software, including copyleft obligations, attribution requirements, field-of-use limitations, patent restrictions, confidentiality clauses, or enterprise seat limitations, shall not survive such interaction.
The original license may continue to exist for archival, historical, or comedic purposes, but shall have no practical effect.
- Dispute Resolution.
In the event of a licensing dispute, the parties shall first attempt resolution through a best-of-three UNO match.
Failure to declare "UNO" constitutes waiver of all legal claims.
Stacking Draw Two and Draw Four cards shall be permitted.
A Reverse Card shall constitute binding appellate authority.
- Disclaimer of Warranty.
THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.
THE PROGRAM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT, OR ACTUAL LEGAL ENFORCEABILITY.
THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM REMAINS WITH YOU.
- Limitation of Liability.
IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, CONTRIBUTOR, DISTRIBUTOR, OR RANDOM PERSON ON THE INTERNET BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OF THE PROGRAM, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
-
DATA LOSS,
-
SYSTEM FAILURE,
-
LICENSE VIOLATIONS,
-
CORPORATE PANIC,
-
GITHUB ARGUMENTS,
-
REDDIT THREADS,
-
OR LEGAL FEES INCURRED WHILE EXPLAINING THIS LICENSE TO A LAWYER.
END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS
If you require a more conventional licensing framework, alternative licenses including the MIT License, Apache License 2.0, GNU General Public License, BSD License, or Mozilla Public License may be more appropriate depending on your legal and operational requirements.
This license is, of course, complete nonsense.