PLAID licence terms

Protocol for Lightweight Authentication of Identity (PLAID) licence terms covers the Intellectual Property Rights in PLAID and or its source code, including reference source code.

The Commonwealth of Australia chooses to licence the Intellectual Property Rights in PLAID and or its source code, including reference source code to other agencies, government and commercial organisations on an open, free and non-discriminatory basis, and to provide it as a component of forward formal standards.

1. Software Licensing Terms

The Protocol for Lightweight Authentication of ID (PLAID) described in this document is a cryptographic and algorithmic method and associated source code which uses symmetric and/or asymmetric cryptography in a unique protocol to protect the communications between smartcard and terminal devices in such a way that strong authentication of objects on the smartcard is possible in a fast and highly secure fashion without the exposure of card or cardholder identifying information or any other information which is useful to an attacker.

This Licence takes effect on and from the date the User first uses, accesses, downloads, reproduces or otherwise deals with the Licenced Materials.

The User acknowledges and agrees that having access to the Licenced Materials is valuable to the User and in consideration for the Commonwealth of Australia permitting the User to use, access, download, reproduce or otherwise deal with the Licenced Materials under the terms of this Licence, the User accepts and agrees to be bound by its terms.

The User acknowledges that any act of accessing, downloading, copying or using, the Licenced Materials will bind the User to the terms of this Licence.

1.1 License

Subject to the terms of this Licence, the Commonwealth of Australia grants to the User a perpetual, irrevocable, world-wide, non-exclusive, royalty-free and no-charge licence to use, reproduce, adapt, modify, enhance, communicate, sub-license and distribute the Licenced Materials. The licence in this clause 2.1 includes the right to incorporate the Licenced Materials into any Product developed by the User.

The User must, when reproducing or communicating the Licenced Materials, ensure that the following words (or words to the same effect) appear concurrently with the Licenced Materials, or any reproduction in a material form of PLAID or any part of it, or as part of any licence for any Product which incorporates or uses PLAID:

“All intellectual property rights in the Protocol for Lightweight Authentication of ID (PLAID) and/or its source code and/or its associated reference implementation (the Licenced Materials) are owned by the Commonwealth of Australia. The Licenced Materials are used, copied, accessed, downloaded or reproduced by you, as a User, under licence from the Commonwealth of Australia. The licence provided is perpetual, irrevocable, world-wide, non-exclusive, royalty free and no-charge, but all Users of the Licenced Materials or any product using or incorporating the Licenced Materials must include this statement in any reproduction of the Licenced Materials or in any product using or incorporating the Licenced Materials. Use of the Licenced Materials or any product incorporating the Licenced Materials is at the User's own risk, and the Commonwealth of Australia makes no warranties or representations about the Licenced Materials and/or any product using or incorporating the Licenced Materials, including about their quality or fitness for purpose.

The licence that applies to you as a User of the Licenced Materials can be found at the PLAID Government webpage.

Except as permitted under this Licence, no part of the Licenced Materials may be reproduced, digitised, stored in a retrieval system, communicated to the public or caused to be seen or heard in public, made publicly available or publicly performed, offered for sale or hire or exhibited by way of trade in public or distributed by way of trade in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the Commonwealth of Australia.

1.2 Intellectual Property Rights

The Intellectual Property Rights in the Licenced Materials remain the exclusive property of the Commonwealth of Australia.

This Licence does not include or constitute any Moral Rights consent or waiver. The User must not commit any act which constitutes a breach of an author’s Moral Rights in respect of the Intellectual Property Rights except where that author has given a Moral Rights consent that meets the requirements of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) or with the Commonwealth of Australia’s written approval.

The User:

  1. must obtain any third party consents necessary in relation to this Licence; and
  2. warrants that it will not, in exercising its rights under this Licence, infringe the Intellectual Property Rights of any third parties.

1.3 Disclaimer

The Commonwealth of Australia provides no warranty and accepts no responsibility in respect of the Licenced Materials or the Intellectual Property Rights that it licenses in this Licence. The Commonwealth of Australia provides the Licenced Materials on an "as is" basis, without warranties or conditions of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation any warranties or conditions of title, non-infringement, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The User agrees that it is solely responsible for determining the appropriateness of using or redistributing the Licenced Materials and assumes any risks associated with the exercise of the permissions granted by this Licence.

The User agrees that the Commonwealth of Australia is not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, or damages for loss of profits, revenue, data or use, incurred by it or any third party as a result of its use of the Licenced Materials.

1.4 Indemnity

In no event and under no legal theory, whether in tort (including negligence), contract or otherwise, unless required by applicable law or as agreed to in writing, will the Commonwealth of Australia be liable to the User for damages, including any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damage of any character arising in connection with this Licence or out of the use or inability to use the Licenced Materials, even if the Commonwealth of Australia has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

The User agrees to permanently indemnify the Commonwealth of Australia from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses or expenses and costs in connection with the User's use of the Licenced Materials.

1.5 Novation

The User must not transfer, assign or novate its rights or obligations under this Licence.

1.6 Assignment of New Intellectual Property Rights

If:

  1. the User modifies, enhances or optimises PLAID or its source code (including reference source code) or develops any other Product that is intended to improve the Licenced Materials; and
  2. the User provides the Product referred to in paragraph 2.6 (a) to the Commonwealth of Australia for incorporation into the Licenced Materials; and
  3. the Commonwealth of Australia incorporates the modification, enhancement or optimisation into the Licenced Materials,

the User irrevocably assigns to the Commonwealth of Australia all of the Intellectual Property Rights in that Product.

1.7 Costs

The User must pay its own costs in relation to the Licenced Materials, this Licence and any document related to this Licence.

1.8 Miscellaneous

The Commonwealth of Australia can modify the terms of this Licence at any time, by posting a notice and a copy of the new Licence terms on its website, but the Commonwealth of Australia may not change the perpetual, irrevocable, world-wide, non-exclusive, royalty free and no-charge nature of the licence granted to the User, or the User's right to use, reproduce, communicate, sub-license and distribute the Licenced Materials under the Licence (unless the User breaches the terms of the Licence). The User must comply with the Licence as modified from time to time.

1.9 Governing law

This Licence contains everything the parties have agreed in relation to the matters it deals with. This Licence is governed by the law of the Australian Capital Territory, Australia.

2. Definitions and Interpretation

In this Licence capitalised terms have the meaning specified in this clause.

Intellectual Property Rights means any and all copyrights, patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, trade names, registered designs, unregistered design rights, copyright, know how, trade secrets, domain names, internet addresses, rights in confidential information, and all and any other intellectual property rights, whether registered or unregistered, and including all applications and rights to apply for any of the same, now or in the future.

Licence means these terms and conditions as amended from time to time, including the licence granted to the User for the Licenced Materials.

Licenced Materials means the Protocol for Lightweight Authentication of ID (PLAID), its source code and its associated reference implementation, including any updates and improvements made from time to time by the Commonwealth of Australia.

Moral Rights means rights of integrity of authorship, rights of attribution of authorship, rights not to have authorship falsely attributed, and rights of a similar nature conferred by statute that exist, or may come to exist, anywhere in the world.

Product means any product or other material developed by or on behalf of the User, including any software, hardware or design, and whether or not intended for commercial distribution.

User means the person or entity that accesses, uses, reproduces, downloads or otherwise deals with the Licenced Materials.

Page last updated: 3 March 2022.
QC 24741