Terms library
Six ways to split a project
Every project on UseMyTokens carries one of these six agreements, filled in with real names and real numbers, and both sides sign it before any capacity moves. Read them here first, then pick the one you'd actually be comfortable signing.
Not legal advice. These templates are starting points meant to be read, not a substitute for a lawyer, and nobody here has checked them against your situation or your jurisdiction. If real money, employment, an NDA, or someone else's IP is involved, get it looked at before you sign.
Side by side
Compare the six
| Template | Who ends up owning it | What the contributor gets | Licence | Contributor-friendly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner keeps everything | The owner, 100% | Nothing but an optional credit | — | 1/5 (1 out of 5) |
| Credit only | The owner, 100% | Named credit and portfolio rights | — | 2/5 (2 out of 5) |
| Equal partners | Split equally between everyone who qualifies | An equal share of the whole project | — | 4/5 (4 out of 5) |
| Proportional equity | The owner, minus the contributor's slice | A fixed percentage of the proceeds | — | 3/5 (3 out of 5) |
| MIT open source | Nobody exclusively — each keeps their own copyright | The same MIT rights as everyone else | MIT | 5/5 (5 out of 5) |
| Public domain (CC0) | Nobody — it belongs to everyone | Everything, and so does the rest of the world | CC0-1.0 | 5/5 (5 out of 5) |
Owner keeps everything
No public licenceContributor-friendly 1/5
You hand over capacity, they keep the project. Nothing changes hands except the work itself.
- The owner keeps 100% of the project and everything built with the contributed capacity.
- The contributor gets no ownership, no revenue share and no claim on the code.
- Credit is the contributor's choice: public credit, a private thank-you, or nothing at all.
- Either side can stop at any time. Capacity already spent doesn't come back.
Credit only
No public licenceContributor-friendly 2/5
The owner keeps the project; the contributor gets named credit and the right to show the work.
- The owner keeps all ownership and every commercial right.
- The contributor is named wherever the project lists who built it.
- The contributor can show the work in a portfolio, a talk or a CV.
- Credit survives a falling-out — it can only be removed for a serious, stated reason.
Equal partners
No public licenceContributor-friendly 4/5
Everyone who contributes above an agreed threshold becomes an equal co-owner of the result.
- Contribute more than the threshold and you own an equal share — the same as everyone else.
- Big calls (selling it, relicensing it, taking investment) need everybody's yes.
- Every co-owner can keep using the code in their own work, forever.
- If someone walks away, they keep the share they already earned.
Proportional equity
No public licenceContributor-friendly 3/5
The contributor earns a percentage of the project sized to the capacity they actually put in.
- The contributor's percentage is written down before any work starts.
- The share vests only once the committed capacity has genuinely been spent on the project.
- The owner still runs the project day to day; the share follows the money, not the decisions.
- If the project earns or sells, the percentage applies to the contributor's cut.
MIT open source
MITContributor-friendly 5/5
Everything built is MIT-licensed from the first commit, and each person keeps their own copyright.
- The output is public and MIT-licensed from day one — anyone can use it, including commercially.
- Nobody owns it exclusively; each contributor keeps copyright in what they wrote.
- Everyone can fork it or reuse their own parts elsewhere without asking permission.
- The licence file and the contributors list are the record of who did what.
Public domain (CC0)
CC0-1.0Contributor-friendly 5/5
The work is released to everyone under CC0, with no conditions at all — not even attribution.
- Everything produced is dedicated to the public domain under CC0 1.0.
- Nobody needs permission, a licence or credit to use it, for anything.
- Neither party can pull it back later or bolt conditions onto it.
- Attribution is a courtesy here, not a requirement.