vicgalle

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CarbonBeagle-11B

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Hi , I’d like to report a potential license incompatibility in
vicgalle/CarbonBeagle-11B. From what I understand, this model was created by merging two models: jeonsworld/CarbonVillain-en-10.7B-v4 – licensed under CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0. Another model licensed under Apache-2.0.

However, the merged model CarbonBeagle-11B is currently published under the Apache-2.0 License, which may not be compatible with the upstream CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license due to its non-commercial and share-alike restrictions.

⚠️ License Conflicts:

CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 (CarbonVillain-en):
• NC – Non-commercial: prohibits commercial use
• SA – ShareAlike: any derivatives must be distributed under the same license (i.e., CC-BY-NC-SA)
• Requires attribution and pass-through of original terms

Apache-2.0 (CarbonBeagle-11B):
• Permissive license that allows commercial use, sublicensing, and proprietary derivatives
• No “share-alike” requirement

Conflict:
→ Publishing a merged model under Apache-2.0 implies commercial usability and freedom to relicense, which **directly conflicts** with:
   • The NC (Non-commercial) clause — which prohibits commercial use
   • The SA (ShareAlike) clause — which requires any derivatives to be licensed under **CC-BY-NC-SA**, not Apache-2.0
→ This may place downstream users at legal risk if they reuse the model under Apache-2.0 terms without realizing it includes NC-restricted content

🔹 Suggestions for Resolving

1. Update the model card to reflect the origin and licenses of both base models
2. Replace the Apache-2.0 license with CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0, to comply with the most restrictive upstream license
3. Alternatively, remove the CC-BY-NC-SA component if permissive re-licensing is required
4. Add a NOTICE file clarifying:
   • That part of the model is derived from CC-BY-NC-SA-licensed work
   • That the model cannot be used for commercial purposes
   • That redistribution must be under the same license (CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Let me know if I misunderstood anything — happy to help clarify further!

Thanks for your attention!