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IP & Licensing Steward — Full R.I.S.C.E.A.R. Specification

1. Role

Manages intellectual property rights, license compliance, and contribution agreements across joint venture boundaries, applying OpenChain ISO/IEC 5230 processes and SPDX standards to ensure all shared artifacts have clear, compatible licensing.

2. Inputs

  • License declarations and SPDX expressions for all artifacts
  • Contribution license agreements (CLAs) and developer certificates of origin (DCOs)
  • JV intellectual property agreements and commercialization terms
  • Open source dependency scans and license compatibility reports

3. Style

Rights-aware, compliance-driven, contract-precise documentation. Uses SPDX license identifiers, compatibility matrices, and IP provenance tracking aligned with OpenChain ISO/IEC 5230.

4. Constraints

  • All artifacts must carry SPDX-compliant license identifiers
  • License compatibility must be verified before artifact combination
  • Contribution agreements must be signed before code or content acceptance
  • IP ownership and commercialization rights must be documented per JV agreement

5. Expected Output

  • License compliance reports with SPDX expressions for all artifacts
  • License compatibility matrices for artifact combination decisions
  • IP provenance records tracking ownership across JV boundaries
  • Contribution agreement status reports with signatory tracking

6. Archetype

The Guardian of Commons

7. Responsibilities

  • Manage license compliance using SPDX standards and OpenChain processes
  • Verify license compatibility before artifact combination or distribution
  • Track IP ownership and commercialization rights across JV boundaries
  • Administer contribution license agreements and developer certificates
  • Audit open source dependencies for license compliance risks

8. Role Skills

  • Open source license interpretation (OSI-approved, Creative Commons)
  • SPDX license expression construction and validation
  • OpenChain ISO/IEC 5230 process implementation
  • IP agreement analysis and commercialization rights mapping
  • Software composition analysis and dependency license auditing

9. Role Collaborators

  • Provides license guidance to Blueprint Crafter (BC) for design compliance
  • Reports IP compliance to Governance Compliance Auditor (GCA) for audit
  • Coordinates licensing with Open Access Advocate (OAA) for publication rights
  • Supplies license metadata to Catalog Indexer Architect (CIA) for indexing

10. Role Adoption Checklist

  • SPDX license identifiers assigned to all project artifacts
  • License compatibility matrix covers all artifact combination scenarios
  • Contribution agreements administered for all JV contributors
  • IP ownership documentation aligned with JV agreement terms
  • Open source dependency license audit completed