--- title: Clarification on IP Rights Policy description: 'We are updating our Intellectual Property Rights Policy to clarify the relationship between this policy and the licences of the constituent works in Ubuntu.  Specifically, we are adding a single clause which states: “Ubuntu is an aggregate work of many works, each covered by their own licence(s). For the purposes of determining what you c […]' url: https://canonical.com/blog/clarification-on-ip-rights-policy --- 1. [Blog](https://canonical.com/blog) 2. Article --- [Jane Silber](https://canonical.com/blog/author/silbs "More about Jane Silber") 15 July 2015 # Clarification on IP Rights Policy --- Share the article We are updating our [Intellectual Property Rights Policy](http://www.ubuntu.com/legal/terms-and-policies/intellectual-property-policy) to clarify the relationship between this policy and the licences of the constituent works in Ubuntu.  Specifically, we are adding a single clause which states: > “Ubuntu is an aggregate work of many works, each covered by their own licence(s). For the purposes of determining what you can do with specific works in Ubuntu, this policy should be read together with the licence(s) of the relevant packages. For the avoidance of doubt, where any other licence grants rights, this policy does not modify or reduce those rights under those licences.” We are proud to choose the GPL as the default licence for the software that Canonical writes, and we do that because we believe it is the licence that creates the most freedoms for its users.  We have always recognised those rights in this Policy, and over the course of a long conversation with the Free Software Foundation and others, we agreed to eliminate any doubt by adding this new language. We would like to thank the Free Software Foundation and the Software Freedom Conservancy for their suggestions in this regard over the past year.  We’ll continue to evolve our policies, in consultation with the very diverse groups that make up the open source community, to reflect best practice and the needs of Canonical and the Ubuntu community. [Get in touch Interested in running Ubuntu in your organization?](https://ubuntu.com/about/contact-us/form) ## Sign up for our newsletter Get the latest Canonical news and updates in your inbox. Work email: \*I agree to receive information about Canonical's products and services. In submitting this form, I confirm that I have read and agree to [Canonical's Privacy Notice](https://canonical.com/legal/data-privacy/contact) and [Privacy Policy](https://canonical.com/legal/data-privacy). Sign up ## Share on --- ## Related posts [### AI infrastructure for telcos](https://canonical.com/blog/ai-infrastructure-for-telcos) Why moving from pilots to production changes the platform Artificial intelligence has moved beyond the demonstration phase. Telco operators are already exploring it for fault... [Benjamin Ryzman](https://canonical.com/blog/author/benjaminryzman) 2 October 2026 [### Canonical named a Challenger in the 2026 GartnerⓇ Magic Quadrant™ for Server Virtualization Platforms](https://canonical.com/blog/canonical-a-challenger-in-2026-gartner-magic-quadrant-for-server-virtualization-platforms) Canonical has been recognized as a Challenger in the 2026 GartnerⓇ Magic Quadrant™ for Server Virtualization Platforms. The inaugural edition of the report provides an... [Canonical](https://canonical.com/blog/author/canonical) 1 October 2026 [### Canonical announces the alpha release of Charmed OpenShell to help secure autonomous AI agent fleets](https://canonical.com/blog/charmed-openshell-alpha-release) To streamline enterprise deployment and lifecycle management, Canonical is announcing the alpha release of Charmed OpenShell. [Canonical](https://canonical.com/blog/author/canonical) 28 September 2026 [### Ubuntu coming soon to Snapdragon X2 Series platforms, unlocking more Linux PCs for the agentic world](https://canonical.com/blog/ubuntu-coming-soon-to-qualcomm-snapdragon-x2-series-platforms) Canonical and Qualcomm Technologies announce upcoming native Ubuntu support for Qualcomm’s flagship laptop silicon, delivering multi-day battery life, 80 TOPS NPU acceleration,... [Canonical](https://canonical.com/blog/author/canonical) 23 September 2026