Merge pull request #186 from mansurjisan/update-license

updated license file

Author: uturuncoglu

LICENSE.md

@@ -1,50 +1,71 @@
-## Overview
+# UFS-Coastal LICENSE file (derived from UFS Weather Model)
 
-This project includes a mix of the following:
+## 1. Overview
 
-- Open source works that are not in the public domain
+The UFS-Coastal system is a coupled modeling framework that integrates multiple numerical models developed by external teams. This project includes:
 
-- Open source works by the U.S. Government that is in the public domain
+- Third-party open-source components, governed by their original licenses (see Section 2)
 
-## Parts of this project that are not in the public domain
+- Original coupling code developed by the UFS-Coastal team (see Section 3)
 
-This project utilizes the following unmodified works under various licenses, as shown below.
+- U.S. Government contributions, which are in the public domain (see Section 4)
 
-- [atmos_cubed_sphere dycore](https://github.com/NOAA-GFDL/GFDL_atmos_cubed_sphere): GNU Lesser General Public License 3.0 ([LGPL](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl-3.0.en.html))
+---
 
-- [fv3atm](https://github.com/NOAA-EMC/fv3atm): GNU Lesser General Public License 3.0 ([LGPL](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl-3.0.en.html))
+## 2. Third-Party Model Licenses
 
-- [Stochastic Physics](https://github.com/NOAA-PSL/stochastic_physics): GNU Lesser General Public License 3.0 ([LGPL](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl-3.0.en.html))
+The following model components are included unmodified and retain their original licenses. These licenses cannot be altered. The following table is for convenience of reference and may not be up-to-date. Please confirm the latest license type directly with the individual model component.
 
-- [CCPP Physics](https://github.com/ufs-community/ccpp-physics): [Apache-2.0](https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0)
+| Model Component | License Reference |
+|-----------------|-------------------|
+| FV3 Atmosphere | https://github.com/NOAA-EMC/fv3atm/blob/develop/LICENSE.md |
+| Atmos Cube-Sphere Dycore | https://github.com/NOAA-GFDL/GFDL_atmos_cubed_sphere/blob/main/LICENSE.md |
+| CCPP Physics | https://github.com/NCAR/ccpp-physics/blob/main/LICENSE |
+| CCPP Framework | https://github.com/NCAR/ccpp-framework/blob/main/LICENSE |
+| GOCART | https://github.com/GEOS-ESM/GOCART/blob/main/LICENSE |
+| Stochastic Physics | https://github.com/NOAA-PSL/stochastic_physics/blob/master/LICENSE.md |
+| UPP | https://github.com/NOAA-EMC/UPP |
+| ADCIRC | https://github.com/adcirc/adcirc/blob/main/LICENSE.md |
+| FVCOM | https://github.com/FVCOM-GitHub/FVCOM/blob/main/LICENSE.md |
+| ROMS | https://github.com/myroms/roms/blob/develop/License_ROMS.md |
+| SCHISM | https://github.com/schism-dev/schism/blob/master/LICENSE |
+| WaveWatch III (WW3) | https://github.com/NOAA-EMC/WW3/blob/develop/LICENSE.md |
+| DFLOW | https://github.com/deepmodeling/dflow/blob/master/LICENSE |
+| SLOSH | https://vlab.noaa.gov/documents/6609493/7858383/SLOSH-LICENSE.pdf/23668f66-5bb8-85c5-6a09-0a254bcf63cd?t=1757516225904 |
 
-- [CCPP Framework](https://github.com/NCAR/ccpp-framework): [Apache-2.0](https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0)
+---
 
-- [AQM](https://github.com/NOAA-EMC/AQM): GNU General Public License 3.0 ([GPL](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html))
+## 3. UFS-Coastal Coupling Code License
 
-- [CICE](https://github.com/NOAA-EMC/CICE): CICE Consortium license ([LICENSE.pdf](https://github.com/NOAA-EMC/CICE/blob/emc/develop/LICENSE.pdf))
+The coupling infrastructure developed by the UFS-Coastal team is released under the **Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication)**.
 
-- [CMakeModules](https://github.com/NOAA-EMC/CMakeModules): GNU Lesser General Public License 3.0 ([LGPL](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl-3.0.en.html))
+- **Legal Code:** https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode
+- **Summary:** https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
 
-- [GOCART](https://github.com/GEOS-ESM/GOCART): [Apache-2.0](https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0)
+This approach aligns with our commitment to ensure the software is publicly released under an open license, at no cost, and with no restrictions on use, unless legally prohibited.
 
-- [HYCOM](https://github.com/NOAA-EMC/HYCOM-src): [MIT License](https://opensource.org/license/mit/)
+Attribution is not required, but the UFS-Coastal team encourages acknowledgment in derivative work.
 
-- [MOM6](https://github.com/NOAA-EMC/MOM6): GNU Lesser General Public License 3.0 ([LGPL](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl-3.0.en.html))
+---
 
-- [WW3](https://github.com/NOAA-EMC/WW3): GNU Lesser General Public License 3.0 ([LGPL](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl-3.0.en.html))
+## 4. U.S. Government Contributions
 
-- [Unified Post Processor](https://github.com/NOAA-EMC/UPP): GNU Lesser General Public License 3.0 ([LGPL](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl-3.0.en.html))
+As a work of the United States Government, this project is in the public domain within the United States.
 
+Additionally, NOAA waives copyright and related rights worldwide through the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Dedication.
 
-## The rest of this project is in the worldwide public domain
+---
 
-As a work of the United States Government, this project is in the public domain within the United States.
+## 5. Notes and Acknowledgments
+
+- All third-party components must be used in accordance with their original licenses.
+
+- Refer to each component's source code or documentation for further licensing details.
 
-Additionally, NOAA waives copyright and related rights in the work worldwide through the [CC0 1.0 Universal public domain dedication](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/).
+- If you include or modify these components, be sure to comply with attribution or notice requirements, if applicable.
 
-## CC0 1.0 Universal Summary
+---
 
-This is a human-readable summary of the [Legal Code (read the full text)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode).
+## 6. Contact
 
-## No copyright
+For questions or contributions regarding this license or the UFS-Coastal coupling system, please contact: saeed.moghimi@noaa.gov