From 07baba79c233c6314032248049b176241cac2f1f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Rob Findley Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2025 14:39:34 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] CONTRIBUTING.md: defer to the blanket antitrust policy Defer to the model context protocol's blanket antitrust policy, rather than maintain an ad-hoc antitrust policy. https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/blob/main/ANTITRUST.md Fixes #651 --- CONTRIBUTING.md | 137 +++--------------------------------------------- 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 131 deletions(-) diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md index 001c35d9..e4da23d8 100644 --- a/CONTRIBUTING.md +++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md @@ -159,134 +159,9 @@ GitHub discussions, or public steering meetings. ### Antitrust considerations -It is important that the SDK avoids bias toward specific integration paths or -providers. The antitrust policy below details precise terms that should be -adhered to in order to ensure that the evolution and governance of the SDK remain -procompetitive. - -### Antitrust policy - -Note: all changes to the policy in this section must be approved by legal -counsel. - -The Go+Anthropic MCP SDK Working Group (the “Working Group”) is established to -guide and review technical contributions to an open-source Go software -development kit (“SDK”) for the Model Context Protocol (“MCP”). The Working Group -and its members are committed to operating for procompetitive purposes that -accelerate AI development and benefit businesses and consumers. This -collaboration is focused on technical and infrastructure objectives – namely, -developing and maintaining a neutral, open-source, and MIT-licensed library. -Google and Anthropic, as well as other stakeholders, participate with the -understanding that the Working Group’s sole purpose is to improve interoperability -and innovation in the MCP ecosystem. - -Antitrust law recognizes that when competitors collaborate for valid reasons -(e.g., joint R&D or standard-setting), such collaborations can be -procompetitive. This Antitrust Compliance Policy (the “Policy”) therefore -outlines guidelines and safeguards to ensure the collaboration remains focused -on its technical mission. - -The Policy applies to all Working Group activities and communications, -including official meetings, subcommittee discussions, emails, shared -documents, and any other interactions under the Working Group’s auspices (e.g., -group chats, version control systems). It applies to all participants from -Google, Anthropic, and any other member organizations or independent -contributors involved in the Working Group. Each participating entity should -ensure its representatives understand and uphold these rules. By participating, -members agree to follow the Policy in both letter and spirit. - -#### Governance Procedures and Principles - -- **Participant Guidelines.** Participants should generally be limited to - individuals in technical roles who are directly involved in the MCP SDK - project. These participants should not be key decision-makers in their - company’s AI commercial strategy, sales, marketing, pricing, or other - competitively or strategically sensitive business planning. -- **Agenda Preparation.** A written agenda should be circulated before each - Working Group meeting. Agenda items should focus on the SDK’s technical - development, maintenance, or documentation. Where appropriate, counsel should - review the agenda prior to circulation to ensure compliance with the Policy. -- **Policy Reminder at Start.** Meetings should begin with a brief antitrust - compliance reminder with reference to the Policy. -- **Minutes.** Meetings will be minuted by a designated participant, and - neutrally record attendees, roles, topics discussed, action items, and - outcomes. Draft minutes will be circulated to all participants. -- **Documentation and Transparency.** Working Group outputs are intended - for public release. Significant design decisions and discussion outcomes - should be documented publicly. If a topic cannot be safely disclosed - publicly, it likely does not belong in this forum. -- **Independence of Decision-Making.** All participants and their companies - retain complete independence in their own business decisions and competitive - strategies outside of the MCP SDK project. Nothing in this collaboration - restricts or influences how each company operates its commercial business. - -### Information Exchange Guidelines - -**Appropriate Topics.** Working Group members are anticipated to remain within the -project’s technical scope. In general, discussions should focus on improving -the Go SDK for MCP in a transparent, collaborative, and non-exclusive manner. -The following topics are appropriate and expected: - -- **Software Design and Architecture:** Implementation of MCP features in Go, - API design, code structure, testing frameworks, performance considerations, - compatibility issues, and security concerns. -- **Technical Contributions and Bug Fixes:** Review of code contributions, - debugging problems, and handling feature requests. -- **Documentation and Open-Source Logistics:** Discussions of project - documentation, changelogs, versioning strategy, and managing contributions. -- **Standards and Interoperability:** Ensuring SDK compliance with MCP or other - open technical standards. Any standardization effort should be open, - voluntary, and tailored to promote interoperability. -- **Public Information:** Any public information relevant to the Working - Group’s technical work (e.g., published research, open-source code from - outside projects, publicly documented API specs). - -**Inappropriate Topics.** To ensure compliance with antitrust law and maintain -the open character of the collaboration, the following subjects should not be -discussed in Working Group meetings, side conversations, or related communications: - -- **Pricing and Commercial Terms:** Do not discuss prices, pricing strategy, - discounting, or future pricing plans for Claude, Gemini, or any other AI - product or service provided by Working Group members. -- **Sales or Output:** Avoid sharing sales volumes, revenue, customer counts, - market shares, production plans, or any business performance metrics. -- **Product Roadmaps (beyond SDK):** Do not disclose internal plans for AI - model development, feature rollouts, or future commercialization strategies. -- **Customers or Markets:** No discussions of which customers, industries, or - geographies the parties will pursue or avoid. -- **Customer or Supplier Details:** Do not share specifics of contracts, - negotiations, or relationships with commercial partners. -- **Non-SDK Proprietary Tech:** Keep discussions focused on the open SDK. - Sharing of information should be limited to what is needed to achieve the - Working Group’s goals. Each party’s internal model architectures, fine-tuning - approaches, or training methods unrelated to the project should not be - disclosed. -- **HR or Labor Matters:** No discussions about wages, hiring plans, or - policies toward employees. - -#### Enforcement and Support - -- **Shared Responsibility.** All Working Group participants share responsibility - for upholding the Policy. While legal counsel can provide support, day-to-day - compliance is a function of culture and practice. -- **Designated Legal Contacts.** Each participating entity should designate a - legal point of contact responsible for reviewing meeting materials (e.g., - agendas, minutes) and fielding questions about compliance. These contacts - should be included in the Working Group distribution list for all official - materials and should be consulted in advance of any meetings where sensitive - topics may arise. -- **Final Note.** The Policy is not meant to chill legitimate technical - collaboration. It is meant to ensure that the Working Group can focus on its - mission without creating unnecessary legal risk or attracting regulator - scrutiny. Participants who follow the Policy and avoid Inappropriate Topics - will remain squarely within the procompetitive zone. - -### Ongoing evaluation - -On an ongoing basis, the administrators of the SDK will evaluate whether it is -keeping pace with changes to the MCP spec and meeting its goals of openness and -transparency. If it is not meeting these goals, either because it exceeds the -bandwidth of its current Working Group, or because the processes here are -inadequate, these processes will be re-evaluated by the Working Group. At this -time, the Working Group set may be expanded to include additional community -members, based on their history of strong contribution. +The goal of this repository is to provide a robust and complete Go +implementation of the model context protocol, in an open and transparent +manner, without bias toward specific integration paths or providers. To that +end, the model context protocol organization's [antitrust +policy](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/modelcontextprotocol/blob/main/ANTITRUST.md) +applies to all participation in this project.