Last updated: 12 November 2026

Free tool: runs in your browser

Open-source license change record checklistbefore you change a licence or write an AI contribution policy

TimeBinder adds a layer of protection against AI and human fraud and disputes. Check which releases stay under the old licence, who has to agree, how you note suspected copying, and the dated copies you can still show.

Nothing you tick is sent anywhere. This page cannot show that code was copied or tell you which licence to use. It is not legal advice.

Check releases, contributors, evidence and the copies you can still show

Tick what is true about your project, your contributors and the files you keep. You get a shareable result and clear next steps. Nothing you tick is sent to TimeBinder.

Your choices stay on this page. Nothing you tick is sent anywhere or tied to your name.

Tick everything that is true before you change a licence or write an AI contribution policy

This looks at which releases stay under the old licence, who has to agree, how you note suspected copying, and the dated copies you can still show. It is not legal advice and cannot show that code was copied.

What to do now

What should maintainers check before they change an open-source licence or write an AI contribution policy? The short answer

Decide which tagged releases stay under the old licence, check who has to agree (contributors, other copyright holders and third-party parts under their own licences), and state your AI contribution policy where contributors will see it. If you suspect copying, write down what, where and when you saw it, and keep dated side-by-side copies before you say anything publicly. Whether a rewrite, including one made with an LLM, is infringement depends on the facts and the law.

This checklist cannot show that code was copied or tell you which licence to use. A TimeBind of a file you already hold, such as a LICENSE file or a saved diff, can show that exact file existed no later than a recorded time and still matches. It does not show who wrote code.

Why this came up in November 2026

In its Asahi Linux 7.3 progress report, posted on LWN on 7 November 2026, the Asahi Linux project said it had been made aware of attempts to exploit its permissive licensing, including in-development feature code lifted from personal forks and published without attribution or “lazily rewritten with LLM assistance to obfuscate its origin”, and that it would move all its repositories to the GNU General Public License version 2 or later. heise online reported that the m1n1 bootloader stays MIT up to version 1.9.9 and is GPLv2 or later from 2.0.0, with nothing changing retroactively. The report named no actors and, per Magica, gave no code comparisons, so these are the project’s allegations, not findings. The project’s generative AI policy broadly forbids generative AI for material contributions.

Measured demand is current. On YouTube, Checked on 13 November 2026, about 2:05 AM Australia/Brisbane. “Asahi Linux Changed Its License and It’s a BIG Deal” (Brodie Robertson, 10 November 2026) had 88,017 views and 1,532 likes. On X, an 8 November 2026 reply from @dhh on the change reached 1,238 likes and 62,568 impressions, and a 10 November post from @AlternativeTo reached 22 likes and 2,218 impressions. Google autocomplete for “asahi linux ai policy” and “asahi linux license” returned little beyond the exact phrases, so the demand record here is YouTube, X and press. This page takes no side in the dispute between projects.

The checks are written for any maintainer weighing a licence change or an AI contribution policy. Always read your own licence terms and take advice where it matters.

Sources: LWN, 7 November 2026, heise online and the Asahi Linux generative AI policy.

What this checklist does and does not do

The honest job of this page is to slow down a licence or policy change until releases, contributors and evidence are sorted, not to decide any dispute. See also the glossary entries for existed no later than and fingerprint.

Limits of the Open-source license change record checklist
Part	What it does	What it does not do
Releases and contributors	Reminds you to decide which tagged releases stay under the old licence, and to check who has to agree and which parts are third-party.	Change a licence for you, or tell you whether you have the right to.
AI contribution policy	Reminds you to state in writing, for example in CONTRIBUTING, what you allow and how you will enforce it.	Identify which contributions used AI, or enforce a policy.
Suspected copying	Gives you a reason to note what, where and when you saw it, and to keep dated side-by-side copies before you speak publicly.	Show that code was copied, or decide whether a rewrite is infringement.
A TimeBind of a file you already hold	Records that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and still matches, using a SHA-256 fingerprint made in your browser. The file stays on your device.	Stop copying, or show who wrote code.

If a licence file or a diff is something you may need to show later

Before and after a licence or policy change:

Keep dated copies of the old licence files, the notice, the exact tag or commit where the change takes effect, and the text of your policy.
Make a TimeBind of each exact file you already hold. The fingerprint is made in your browser and the file stays on your device. You can later download a Proof of Time Certificate.
Store the files, the diff or archive of anything you suspect was copied, and the certificate together, with a note of what you saw, where and when.

A TimeBind shows the exact file existed no later than the recorded time and still matches. It cannot show who wrote code or that code was copied.

Make a TimeBind: first one free →

First Pooled TimeBind free, no card, then from US$5. An ASAP TimeBind is US$15.

What a TimeBind shows, and what it does not. It shows that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and that a copy shown later still matches its fingerprint. It does not show who made the file, who owns it, that its contents are true, or whether AI was used to make or edit it. This is general information, not legal advice.

If you want to set out how your project handles AI-assisted pull requests, see also the free AI contribution policy note builder. It cannot tell whether a change was written with AI.

Open-source license change record checklist: FAQ

Can this checklist tell me if my code was copied?

No. It runs in your browser and only helps you plan. Whether a copy, or an LLM rewrite of code, is infringement depends on the facts and the law, and a lawyer is the right person to ask.

Does changing a licence change old releases?

Reports on Asahi Linux’s change say old versions stay under the licence they were released under, for example m1n1 up to 1.9.9 stays MIT. For your own project, check what your contributors and licences allow.

Who has to agree to a licence change?

It depends on who holds the copyright in the code and on any CLA or DCO. Contributors who kept their copyright may need to agree, and third-party parts keep their own licences. Ask for advice.

What should an AI contribution policy say?

That is your decision. Examples range from a broad ban, as Asahi Linux’s policy describes, to allowing AI-generated contributions with disclosure in the commit, which heise reports a different project does. Say where it is written and how you will enforce it.

Does a dated record stop copying?

No. A TimeBind of a file you already hold can show that exact file existed no later than a recorded time and still matches. It does not stop copying or show that someone copied.

Is anything I tick sent to TimeBinder?

No. The checklist runs in your browser. Your ticks stay on the page.

Related guides and tools

Your file’s fingerprint, anchored to a global network secured by real electricity and cryptography.

Editing a file—including with AI—changes its fingerprint, not its existing network record.

How this works

Your file’s SHA-256 fingerprint, a short code worked out from its exact contents, is made in your browser, and the file itself stays on your device. A cryptographic commitment to that fingerprint, which may be combined with others, is then anchored in a block on the Bitcoin blockchain. Bitcoin is secured by proof of work: computers around the world spend real electricity to add each block, and changing an earlier block would mean redoing that work faster than the rest of the network. Until that block is confirmed, your proof is pending. Once the Bitcoin anchoring is confirmed, you can verify the proof against that recorded commitment. The confirmed record can then be checked; Pooled TimeBinds are checked through TimeBinder, while ASAP TimeBinds can also be checked independently. If you check the file later and its fingerprint still matches, that shows the file existed no later than the recorded time. The record doesn’t show who made the file, whether AI was used, or that its contents are true.

Your filestays on your device
FingerprintSHA-256
Network timestampon Bitcoin

Date the exact files you already hold

Add a layer of protection against AI and human fraud and disputes: a dated, checkable record of the exact licence files, tags and policy text, kept beside anything you may later need to show.

Open the app and sign in with email or Google.
Add your files. They stay on your computer.
Seal them and download your Proof of Time certificates.

Open TimeBinder →

First Pooled TimeBind free, no card, then from US$5. See pricing.