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Resource Licensing

Asset License Metadata Record

Asset-library intake must record license, commercial-use judgment, attribution needs, download method, and RAG keywords at the specific resource level, not just the platform name.

licenseassetsragmetadata

Design Principle

The value of an asset library is not volume. It is legal reuse, traceability, downloadability, and accurate agent retrieval. Aggregators and marketplaces especially require per-resource license decisions.

Large Theory

When future agents retrieve assets through RAG, the most dangerous failure is not missing a resource. It is recommending a resource with unclear license, missing attribution, or no commercial rights. Asset records must therefore join legal metadata with implementation metadata.

Small Points

  1. Record the exact license name instead of only saying open source or free.
  2. commercialUse should distinguish yes, conditional, and check-set-license.
  3. Aggregated resources require per-resource confirmation, such as Iconify by icon set, Google Fonts by font family, and LottieFiles by individual animation file.
  4. Record installHint so agents know whether to install npm packages, self-host, download SVG, download WOFF2, or use a CDN.
  5. RAG keywords should include category, style, file format, integration method, and license terms.

Design Judgment

If an asset record cannot answer whether it is commercial-safe, whether attribution is required, where to download it, how to integrate it, and what it is good for, it should not be auto-recommended by agents.

Implementation Notes

A catalog item should include at least name, category, license, commercialUse, sourceHref, repositoryHref or licenseHref, installHint, usage, strengths, cautions, and ragKeywords. Custom-license and trademark resources default to conditional.

Counterexamples/Risks

Treating Iconify's project license as every icon's license, treating the lottie-web player license as animation license, downloading fonts without preserving license files, and using brand logos as decorative icons.

Case Study

Google Fonts licensing is confirmed per font family, Iconify icon licenses vary by set, LottieFiles public animations use their own public animation license, and lottie-web is only an MIT player. The reusable lesson is that the platform, renderer, and actual asset file are three different objects.

Source Links

Google Fonts licensing: https://fonts.google.com/knowledge/glossary/licensing Iconify icon sets: https://icon-sets.iconify.design/ LottieFiles license: https://lottiefiles.com/page/license lottie-web: https://github.com/airbnb/lottie-web

Agent Directive

Before adding an asset, record resource-level license and integration method; if uncertain, mark check-set-license or conditional and do not auto-recommend it for commercial use.