Exponential is free software, released under the GNU General Public License, version 2 or any later version. Its copyright is held by the Exponential Foundation and 7x together, the Foundation named first: "Exponential Copyright © 1998-2026 Exponential Foundation and 7x".
Every contributor of code to Exponential signs the CLA (Contributor Licensing Agreement) of the Exponential Foundation and 7x and sends it to them. By signing the CLA and submitting a contribution, you assign (transfer) the copyright in that contribution to the Exponential Foundation and 7x, who become its owners. They may use, change, relicense and distribute it in any way, including commercially and under other licenses, without asking you and without paying you, and you cannot withdraw it or set conditions on it. Your own custom extensions are not affected.
There is therefore no separate copyright of "the Exponential contributors": the copyright notice names only the Exponential Foundation and 7x, the holders of every merged contribution. Contributors are credited in the changelogs, in the authorship of every commit and on the recognition pages; credit is not a copyright claim.
The current agreement is version 1.1.0 of 29 October 2026. It replaces version 1.0.1, which granted 7x a non-exclusive license; contributions submitted under a signed version 1.0.1 remain under that version. For the full terms, please read the CLA. This page is a summary and does not replace the agreement.
Who doesn't need to sign the CLA
If you provide us with small patches or bugfixes via our bug tracker, in most cases we do not need you to sign a CLA. Generally, authors cannot claim copyright for small fixes. A pull request to the core kernel repository (se7enxweb/exponential) is however merged only once a signed CLA is on file.
Also, if you have written a contribution and want to make it available on GitHub (https://github.com), you do not need to sign the CLA. You are free to just upload your contribution to the site.
Your own extensions, site packages, designs and themes that you keep and license yourself, and a site you build and run with Exponential (which is governed by the GPL), need no CLA. Nor does anything you mark in writing as "Not a Contribution".
Who needs to sign the CLA
You will need to sign the CLA if you are the copyright holder of any code which you want the Exponential Foundation and 7x to include in the Exponential project. Such code includes (but is not limited to):
- complete/incomplete extensions for Exponential
- patches
- templates
- PHP files
- configuration files
- documentation files
- translations
When and how do you sign your CLA and submit your contribution?
The CLA will be signed once for all your future contributions and not only for one single specific contribution, this means you don't need to sign a new CLA each time you contribute. You will only need to do so in the case where you would represent a new legal entity.
Your contributions will have to be submitted and received by the Exponential Foundation and 7x as defined in the CLA (§3, Definitions): a pull request, a patch, code attached to an issue and code sent by mail all count. We prefer an explicit email to community [at] se7enx [dot] com or to the 7x representative which you are in contact with. This message should clearly define the scope of your contribution and provide access to your work.
How do you sign and send the CLA?
- Download the Exponential Foundation and 7x Contributor Licensing Agreement, version 1.1.0 (PDF) and read it.
- Fill in Section 2 (the copyright owner, or the legal entity authorized by the copyright owner) and the signature block, and sign it.
- Send it to the Exponential Foundation and 7x by regular mail, by emailing a scan of the signed copy, or by fax. The postal address and fax number are in the agreement.
- Mention in your pull request (or patch, issue or mail) that your CLA is signed.
- Email to: community [at] se7enx [dot] com
If you choose to send your CLA by email, please be sure the document was sent correctly.
As always, we value your contributions and thank you for your cooperation.
History
eZ Systems, the original developer of the software, first required contributors to transfer their copyright to eZ Systems and later asked them to sign a licensing agreement instead. 7x continued the project and published version 1.0.1 of its agreement, a non-exclusive license to 7x. Since 29 October 2026 the agreement, version 1.1.0, is made with the Exponential Foundation and 7x together and assigns the copyright to both.