Choosing license terms
When you list an IP via the Mint a new IP flow, you pick one of five preset license terms. This page is the decision guide.
For the underlying PIL framework, see Programmable IP Licenses.
Decision tree
The five presets
1. Personal use only
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Commercial use | No |
| Derivatives | No |
| Transferable | No |
| Royalty | None |
| PIL terms id | 2834 (hackathon demo) |
The most restrictive license. The license token stays with the winning wallet — it can't be transferred. The winner can use the IP for personal or research purposes only.
Pick this if: you want full downstream control. The winner is a known party with a specific personal use case.
2. Non-commercial · Social remixing
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Commercial use | No |
| Derivatives | Yes (attribution + reciprocal) |
| Transferable | Yes |
| Royalty | None |
| PIL terms id | 1 (Story canonical) |
The "let the world build on it" license. Anyone with the license can make non-commercial derivatives. Those derivatives inherit the same terms (reciprocal), so the entire chain stays non-commercial.
Pick this if: you want to seed a creative community around your IP without monetizing the remixes.
3. Commercial · No remix
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Commercial use | Yes (attribution) |
| Derivatives | No |
| Transferable | Yes |
| Royalty | None |
| Royalty policy | LAP (required for commercial) |
Commercial use is allowed, but the IP itself can't be remixed. The licensee can use it in marketing, products, or services with attribution but can't create derivative IP.
Pick this if: you want to license commercial usage rights without opening up the IP to derivative works.
4. Commercial remix · 5% revenue
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Commercial use | Yes (attribution) |
| Derivatives | Yes (attribution + reciprocal) |
| Transferable | Yes |
| Royalty | 5% of derivative revenue |
| Royalty policy | LAP |
The license that tracks the whole derivative tree. Every downstream
derivative pays 5% of its revenue back to your wallet. Derivatives inherit
the same terms (derivativesReciprocal: true), so a remix-of-a-remix also
pays 5% upward.
Pick this if: you want to seed a remix economy and capture upside from downstream success.
5. Creative Commons · Attribution
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Commercial use | Yes (attribution) |
| Derivatives | Yes (attribution) |
| Transferable | Yes |
| Royalty | None |
| Royalty policy | LAP (configured, 0% take) |
CC-BY-style: maximally permissive. Anyone can use the IP commercially, make derivatives, and transfer the license. Attribution is required but nothing else.
Pick this if: you care more about reach than revenue.
Common pitfalls
Picking a preset that doesn't match your downstream expectations. If you list a Commercial Remix license at 5% and only later realize you wanted 10%, you can't change the existing license. You'd have to relist under a new preset.
Underselling the revenue share preset. Commercial Remix at 5% is the preset most sellers under-pick. If you're listing IP that has any chance of being remixed at scale, this preset captures the upside; the others don't.
Picking Personal Use Only for IP you actually want to monetize. This preset is the most restrictive and the lowest-value. It's only the right pick when you specifically want a non-transferable, personal-use grant.
Reading deeper
- PIL flavors documentation on Story
- PIL concept page — what the underlying PIL framework can express
- Fees and royalties — how royalty flows interact with the marketplace fee
- The actual preset structs in code:
web/lib/licensePresets.ts