Intellectual Property Notice
Sustainable Future Tech, Inc. develops and publishes research, architectures, specifications, software, technical methods, publications, educational materials, inventions, and other intellectual work.
SFT uses different intellectual-property models for different kinds of work. Research publications are generally shared openly, books remain copyrighted, open repositories carry their own open licenses, and patent rights are treated separately from copyright and publication rights.
Research Is Generally CC BY 4.0
SFT research papers and preprints released through repositories such as Zenodo and arXiv are generally published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International unless the specific artifact states otherwise.
Books Are Copyrighted
Books and other book-length works published by Sustainable Future Tech Publishing are copyrighted and all rights reserved unless a particular edition expressly provides different terms.
Open Repositories Have Their Own License
Public source-code and technical repositories are governed by the open license included with the repository. Always consult the repository’s license before reuse.
Scope
This Intellectual Property Notice applies to public content presented by Sustainable Future Tech, Inc. (“SFT,” “we,” “our,” or “us”), including content published through Sustainable Future Tech Publishing, an operating division of Sustainable Future Tech, Inc.
SFT creates several different categories of intellectual work, and the rights applicable to one category should not automatically be assumed to apply to another.
Papers & Preprints
Public research papers, technical reports, preprints, diagrams, methods, models, and related scholarly or technical material.
Books & Professional Works
Books, bodies of knowledge, textbooks, manuals, professional references, and other works published through Sustainable Future Tech Publishing.
Source Repositories
Open-source software, reference implementations, schemas, examples, machine-readable artifacts, and repository documentation.
Architectures & Standards
Technical specifications, requirements, reference models, conformance material, schemas, and standards-related publications.
Patent-Related Technology
Systems, methods, mechanisms, processes, control architectures, physical technologies, and other inventions that may be subject to patent rights.
Names, Brands & Marks
Company names, program names, logos, publication identities, platform names, trade names, and other source-identifying material.
SFT’s Publishing & Licensing Model
SFT uses a deliberate rights model intended to support open scientific and technical dissemination while preserving the intellectual property associated with books, brands, inventions, and commercial implementation.
Generally CC BY 4.0
Research papers and preprints released through Zenodo and arXiv are generally made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license unless the specific artifact expressly states otherwise.
Copyrighted Books
Books and book-length professional publications are copyrighted works. All rights are reserved unless the copyright page or another authorized notice for a particular edition grants additional permissions.
Repository-Specific Open License
Open repositories are governed by the license included with that repository. The repository license defines the permissions and obligations for the code and other materials within its stated scope.
The governing rule is simple: determine what kind of SFT artifact you are using and then follow the rights statement attached to that artifact. A research-paper license, book copyright, repository license, trademark right, and patent right are separate legal layers.
Research Publications
SFT generally publishes public research papers, preprints, and technical research releases deposited through Zenodo and arXiv under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0) .
CC BY 4.0 generally permits sharing and adaptation, including commercial reuse, subject to the attribution and other requirements of that license.
Users should preserve relevant authorship, title, publication information, DOI or other persistent identifier, and license information when citing or reusing SFT research.
Check the publication itself. CC BY 4.0 is SFT’s general approach for Zenodo and arXiv research releases, but an artifact-specific copyright or license notice controls if a particular work expressly states different terms.
The copyright license governing the written research does not automatically grant rights under patents, trademarks, confidential information, separately licensed software, or third-party materials.
Books & Sustainable Future Tech Publishing
Books and book-length professional works published through Sustainable Future Tech Publishing are copyrighted works.
Unless a particular edition expressly states otherwise, those works are all rights reserved .
Copyright protection may apply to the text, diagrams, figures, tables, original illustrations, editorial arrangement, supplemental materials, and other original expression contained in the work.
Ordinary quotation, citation, scholarly reference, fair use, and other uses permitted by applicable law remain subject to applicable law. Reproduction, redistribution, adaptation, translation, commercial republication, or substantial reuse may require permission from the applicable rights holder.
A research paper describing subject matter that also appears in an SFT book does not make the book itself an open-license publication. The book’s copyright page and edition-specific rights statement control use of the book.
Open Repositories
SFT may publish source code, reference implementations, schemas, examples, machine-readable specifications, experimental software, documentation, or related materials through public repositories.
These repositories use a repository-specific open license . Users should review the LICENSE file, repository documentation, notices, or other rights statement included with the repository before copying, modifying, distributing, incorporating, or commercially using repository material.
The repository license governs only the material within the scope established by that license.
It should not automatically be interpreted as granting rights to:
- an SFT book or other copyrighted publication;
- a separately published research paper;
- an SFT name, logo, trademark, certification mark, or other brand identifier;
- an invention covered by a patent or patent application; or
- independently owned third-party material.
The repository license controls the repository. Do not infer a software or source-code license from the CC BY 4.0 license attached to a related paper, and do not infer the license of a related publication from the repository’s open license.
Patents & Patent Applications
Some SFT technologies, architectures, systems, mechanisms, methods, processes, or related inventions are or may become the subject of United States or other patent applications and patent rights.
References to provisional applications, non-provisional applications, patent-pending technologies, or patents should be interpreted according to the specific status stated for the technology.
Filing a patent application does not guarantee that a patent will issue or that any ultimately issued claims will have the same scope as the originally filed application.
Open publication does not automatically mean open patent rights. A CC BY 4.0 paper can permit reuse of the publication while patent rights associated with an underlying invention remain separate.
Similarly, an open repository license should not be interpreted as granting patent rights beyond whatever patent permissions, if any, are expressly provided by that particular license.
Specifications, Standards & Conformance Materials
SFT develops and publishes technical specifications, architectural models, requirements, schemas, reference models, implementation guidance, conformance materials, and standards-related work.
Each published specification should be used according to the copyright and license notice associated with its publication or repository.
Public availability of a specification does not transfer ownership of SFT trademarks, names, logos, certification identifiers, or other source-identifying material.
Implementing a specification also does not by itself establish that an implementation has been assessed, certified, endorsed, authorized, or determined to conform by SFT or an affiliated conformance program.
Open specification and verified conformance are separate concepts. Where a formal conformance program establishes requirements for making conformance claims, those requirements govern how such claims may be made.
Names, Logos, Trade Names & Trademarks
Sustainable Future Tech, Sustainable Future Tech Publishing, SFT program and platform names, logos, and other identifiers used in connection with SFT activities may function as trademarks, service marks, trade names, publication identities, or other source-identifying designations.
Open publication or open-source licensing does not grant a right to use an SFT name, logo, or mark in a manner that falsely suggests sponsorship, endorsement, certification, partnership, affiliation, or approval.
Accurate descriptive reference to SFT, its research, specifications, publications, technologies, or software should not be presented in a misleading manner.
Third-party names and marks referenced by SFT remain the property of their respective holders.
Attribution & Citation
SFT encourages accurate citation of its publicly available research, specifications, and technical publications.
Where a publication provides a recommended citation, DOI, version number, author, publisher, publication date, document identifier, or license notice, those details should be preserved where relevant.
Material used under CC BY 4.0 should include the attribution required by that license, including an indication of modifications when applicable.
Open-repository material should follow the attribution, copyright-notice, license-notice, or other obligations established by the applicable repository license.
Citation or reuse of an SFT work does not imply SFT endorsement of the citing organization, product, derivative work, interpretation, or conclusion.
Third-Party Materials
SFT webpages, publications, books, repositories, and research materials may reference or incorporate third-party research, standards, software, datasets, graphics, trademarks, quotations, government materials, specifications, or other content.
Rights in third-party materials remain subject to the rights, licenses, terms, and restrictions applicable to those materials.
An SFT copyright or open license cannot grant rights that SFT does not possess in independently owned third-party material.
Users are responsible for determining whether additional permission is required for their intended use.
Public Disclosure Does Not Waive Other Rights
SFT intentionally publishes substantial scientific, engineering, technical, and professional information. Public dissemination supports research, standards development, professional education, transparency, and technical collaboration.
Public availability, however, should not be interpreted as a blanket waiver of intellectual-property rights.
A public research paper may be CC BY 4.0 while an associated invention remains patent protected, an associated repository operates under its own open license, an SFT book remains copyrighted, and an SFT name or logo remains protected as a source identifier.
“Openly available” does not mean that every layer of the underlying intellectual property is unrestricted. Determine which rights apply to the particular use you intend to make.
Commercial Use & Implementation
Commercial-use permissions depend on the particular intellectual property involved.
CC BY 4.0 research publications generally permit commercial reuse subject to the terms of that license. Open repositories are governed by their repository licenses.
Books remain copyrighted unless otherwise stated, and commercial reproduction or distribution of copyrighted book content may require permission.
Neither publication rights nor repository rights should automatically be interpreted as granting permission to practice patented inventions, use SFT trademarks, claim SFT certification, or exercise rights outside the scope of the applicable license.
Organizations considering commercial implementation or licensing of SFT technology should evaluate each relevant rights layer and contact SFT where separate authorization may be required.
Unsolicited Ideas & Intellectual Property
SFT welcomes appropriate conversations about research, technical collaboration, publishing, licensing, and commercialization. General website contact channels, however, are not intended for submission of confidential inventions or proprietary technical information.
Sending an unsolicited idea, invention disclosure, source code, design, manuscript, business concept, research concept, or other material through a public contact channel does not by itself create a confidentiality obligation, licensing relationship, fiduciary relationship, partnership, or transfer of ownership.
Establish the appropriate channel before disclosing confidential intellectual property. If confidential technical or business information needs to be exchanged for a potential collaboration, the parties should first determine whether an appropriate confidentiality agreement or other written arrangement is required.
Permissions, Licensing & IP Inquiries
You may contact SFT if you need clarification concerning a copyright permission, commercial-use request, repository license, technology license, patent-related implementation question, publication permission, use of SFT branding, or other intellectual-property matter.
When contacting SFT about a particular resource, please identify the specific work, publication, DOI, specification, repository, figure, technology, webpage, or other artifact involved and describe the proposed use.
Sustainable Future Tech, Inc.
Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA
Interested in Using, Licensing, or Building on SFT Intellectual Property?
Identify the specific research publication, book, specification, repository, technology, or other material you are interested in and the intended use. SFT can help determine which existing license applies and whether a separate permission, commercial license, collaboration, or technology-transfer discussion is appropriate.
Contact SFT