Sustainable Licensing at Element with AGPL

Element has announced a transition to the Affero General Public License (AGPLv3) for its development of the Synapse Matrix homeserver and related projects, effective from December 2023. This change aims to support the growth of Matrix as an open-source project while ensuring that organizations profiting from Matrix-based solutions contribute back to its development. Since the shift, Element has maintained a consistent release schedule, with 18 updates under AGPL, focusing on preparations for Matrix 2.0. The decision to adopt AGPL is driven by the increasing public sector adoption of Matrix, which has attracted significant interest from system integrators. Element plans to move additional backend projects and client applications to AGPLv3, while also offering a dual license option for certain client apps to accommodate users unable to install AGPL software. The licensing change is intended to encourage proprietary forks to either contribute improvements back to the project or procure a license to support ongoing development. Contributors will need to sign a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) to allow Element to sell proprietary licenses while ensuring that contributions remain under an open-source license. This marks the completion of Element's planned licensing changes, with the expectation that users will benefit from enhanced development and support.

- Element has shifted to AGPLv3 for Synapse and related projects to promote open-source contributions.

- The transition aims to ensure funding for Matrix's development from organizations profiting from its use.

- Additional backend projects and client applications will also adopt AGPLv3.

- A dual licensing option will be available for certain client apps to accommodate corporate users.

- Contributors must sign a CLA to allow Element to sell proprietary licenses while maintaining open-source distribution.