AOFS is designed as an open, community-driven standard for smallholder farms, NGOs, and local agricultural projects. To maximize adoption while protecting the open standard from commercial hijacking, AOFS recommends governance under a non-profit organization.

* The non-profit owns the AOFS name, logo, and certification marks. * Official AOFS branding may only be used by implementations certified to follow the standard. * Open licensing applies to specifications and core modules:

• Documentation: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
  • Details & Legal Code
• Software modules: GNU GPL v3 or similar strong copyleft licenses
• Hardware / Controller designs: CERN Open Hardware License (OHL)

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* Steering Committee / Advisory Board oversees the standard:

• Representatives from NGOs, universities, and community organizations
• Approves contributions, updates, and certification rules

* Transparent and open decision-making ensures AOFS remains aligned with humanitarian and low-resource farming goals.

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* Core AOFS modules (irrigation safety, livestock, poultry) remain open, auditable, and standardized. * Optional extensions may be added by communities or organizations, but must comply with licensing rules to remain AOFS-compatible. * Federated controller network ensures data and operations remain local, secure, and independent of any commercial vendor.

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* Only implementations following the AOFS standard and passing audits may use:

• AOFS logo
• "AOFS Certified" branding

* Certification ensures community and NGO trust, even if optional proprietary extensions are added.

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* AOFS encourages adoption (embrace) and local customization (extend) while legal, governance, and licensing mechanisms prevent hijacking or closing the standard (extinguish). * Key safeguards:

• Strong copyleft licenses (CC BY-SA 4.0, GPL v3, OHL)
• Controlled trademark and certification marks
• Transparent governance through a steering committee
• Federated, modular architecture with auditable core

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* Being a non-profit signals neutrality, encouraging adoption by:

• NGOs
• Local government projects
• Community farms in low-resource regions

* Ensures AOFS remains humanitarian and accessible, rather than commercially driven.

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* Non-profit may fund operations via:

• Grants and donations
• Certification and training programs
• Optional commercial extensions or services

* Core AOFS remains fully open and auditable, while funding supports community support, training, and governance.

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AOFS under a non-profit framework ensures:

* Legal protection of name, logo, and certification * Strong copyleft licensing for core modules * Transparent, community-driven governance * Federated and modular architecture for resilient, offline-first operation * Protection against commercial hijacking while encouraging open adoption and local extensions