Release Legal and Attribution Review¶

Date: 2026-11-02 (donationware model and project-owner sign-off recorded) Status: engineering audit complete; project-owner legal/attribution sign-off recorded; v1.0 is a documented-compatibility release. M14 is post-1.0 research. Distribution model: donationware — non-commercial, source-available, voluntary donations only (no sales) Release: 1.0.0 (documented-compatibility scope)

This is an engineering audit, not legal advice. It records what the release contains, what was verified, and the decisions recorded for the public v1.0 release.

1. What the release contains¶

The release is one bundle per system: 5do-<version>-win-x64.zip, 5do-<version>-linux-x64.tar.gz, and 5do-<version>-osx-x64.tar.gz. Each bundle contains only:

• the framework-dependent single-file CLI and desktop apphosts and their native dependencies,
• README.md,
• whatsnew.md,
• LICENSE,
• THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md,
• docs/Licensing.md,
• docs/OpenALSoft.md (OpenAL Soft notice, source offer, and relinking rights),
• docs/OpenAL-Soft-COPYING.txt (the LGPL-2.0 license text),
• PACKAGE.txt,
• the release notes,
• the Linux .desktop entry for the Linux bundle.

They do not contain References/, artifacts/, bios/, test corpora, disc images, BIOS ROMs, extracted assets, screenshots, WAV captures, the .NET runtime, PDB files, XML documentation files, or any FreeDO/4DO/Opera reference binary.

2. Verification performed¶

• git ls-files contains no .bin, .chd, .iso, .cue, .wav, .rom, .3do, .png, or .jpg files.
• bios/ and artifacts/ are ignored by .gitignore and are not copied by packaging/package-bundle.ps1.
• The root LICENSE records the FreeDO modified GNU LGPL: the FreeDO notice is reproduced verbatim, the GNU LGPL 2.1 text is included, and the additional terms are carried forward. packaging/package-bundle.ps1 copies LICENSE into each bundle.
• THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md covers FreeDO, 4DO, Opera/libopera, xBR-lv2, HQx, CHDSharp, Avalonia, CommunityToolkit.Mvvm, Microsoft.Extensions.*, System.CommandLine, Silk.NET/OpenAL/Vulkan, XenoAtom.ShaderCompiler.Build, xUnit, BenchmarkDotNet, the .NET 10 runtime, and the bundled OpenAL Soft 1.23.1 runtime.
• The OpenAL Soft native runtime is included in the Windows, Linux, and macOS x64 bundles through Silk.NET.OpenAL.Soft.Native; Windows copies soft_oal.dll as OpenAL32.dll. This adds an LGPL-2.0-or-later binary-distribution obligation to the release. docs/OpenALSoft.md records the notice, the exact upstream 1.23.1 source, the three-year written source offer, and the relinking/replacement instructions; docs/OpenAL-Soft-COPYING.txt contains the complete LGPL-2.0 text. Both files are copied into every bundle by packaging/package-bundle.ps1. The native library stays outside the single-file apphosts, so users can replace it.
• The .NET 10 runtime is a host prerequisite and is not redistributed in the bundles. Users install it from Microsoft; the .NET runtime is MIT licensed and is listed in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md.
• The desktop About dialog reports the version, renderer state, and the FreeDO modified GNU LGPL notice, and states that no BIOS ROMs or game images are included.
• The CLI prints the product/version and does not bundle BIOS/disc content.
• FreeDO/4DO/Opera source headers and attribution remain in the repository.
• The bundles contain no References/ file, no FreeDO/4DO/Opera binary, no .NET runtime, no PDB or XML documentation files, and no BIOS ROM, disc image, extracted asset, screenshot, or WAV capture.

3. Decisions and residual risks¶

• Distribution model and project license. The root LICENSE now records the project license as the FreeDO modified GNU LGPL: the FreeDO notice is reproduced verbatim, the GNU LGPL 2.1 text is the base, and the additional terms are carried forward. The upstream FreeDO/4DO terms include a non-commercial restriction and a requirement for full credits, so the project remains donationware: non-commercial, source-available, and funded by voluntary donations rather than sales. The project's own license is not more permissive than the upstream terms allow.
• Donationware position recorded. The project accepts voluntary donations for development costs but does not sell builds, licenses, support, or access. Donation tiers must not be described as purchasing a license or commercial rights.
• Confirm donationware with the rights holders. Project-owner decision recorded 2026-11-02: distribute under the FreeDO modified GNU LGPL as free, open-source donationware (non-commercial; voluntary donations only). External rights-holder correspondence is not a v1.0 gate; revisit before any commercial use.
• Rights-holder contact. Not required for the non-commercial v1.0 distribution; revisit if the distribution model changes.
• Commercial-use position. Do not sell builds or bundle them with commercial products without written permission.
• Source availability. The source is public on GitHub and the LGPL source offer/relinking record ships with the OpenAL Soft runtime.
• Remaining third-party license review. CHDSharp and HQx LGPL obligations, the 4DO game database attribution, and the bundled OpenAL Soft notice are recorded in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md and the release archives. Accepted as part of the project-owner sign-off.
• Trademark review. "3DO", "Panasonic", and "GoldStar" are trademarks of their respective owners; the 5DO name and release notes do not imply endorsement.
• OpenAL Soft LGPL-2.0-or-later runtime obligation. The engineering side is complete: notice and copyright, the complete LGPL-2.0 text, the upstream 1.23.1 source location, a three-year written source offer, and relinking/replacement instructions are in docs/OpenALSoft.md and docs/OpenAL-Soft-COPYING.txt, and both files are packaged. Accepted as part of the project-owner sign-off on 2026-11-02.

4. Recommendation¶

Owner/legal review is signed off (2026-11-02). Keep the following practices:

• keep the root LICENSE and the FreeDO modified GNU LGPL terms in every distribution,
• distribute the source and release artifacts as donationware (non-commercial, source-available) builds; donations are voluntary and do not grant commercial rights,
• keep full FreeDO/4DO/Opera attribution in the README, About box, and release notes,
• ship the unified bundles only, with no installers or store listings,
• document that the .NET 10 runtime is a host prerequisite and do not bundle it,
• keep the OpenAL Soft notice and license text in every bundle,
• do not describe the build as an officially licensed 3DO product.

The engineering side of the release gate is tracked in ReleaseChecklist.md. This document covers only the legal and attribution portion.

5. Sign-off¶