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License guide · Non-commercial license

Apple Machine Learning Research Model License Agreement

The Apple Machine Learning Research Model License Agreement is Apple Inc.'s license for models it releases "for the sole purpose of scientific research of artificial intelligence and machine-learning technology." It grants a limited license to use, copy, modify, distribute, and create Model Derivatives exclusively for Research Purposes. This guide uses the copies published in Apple's OpenELM-3B-Instruct and FastVLM-7B repositories on Hugging Face, which are identical.12Fact reviewed Oct 8, 2026

Custom license (no SPDX identifier)Read the full license text (external site: huggingface.co)Reviewed Oct 8, 2026

These notes restate parts of the license text so you know what to look for. They are not complete, are not legal advice, and do not tell you whether a particular use is allowed. The license text governs.

What the license text says

Research purposes only
The license is "personal, non-exclusive, worldwide, non-transferable, royalty-free, revocable, and limited" and applies "exclusively for Research Purposes." Any Model Derivatives must also be limited to Research Purposes.12
No commercial use
Research Purposes means "non-commercial scientific research and academic development activities" and "does not include any commercial exploitation, product development or use in any commercial product or service."12
Redistribution and attribution
Redistributors must provide a copy of the agreement and a set attribution notice. Model Derivatives must be clearly identified, with modifications disclosed, and Apple's name, trademarks, or logos may not be used to endorse or promote them.12
No other rights
Apple grants no other rights or licenses beyond those stated, "including but not limited to any patent, trademark, and similar intellectual property rights."12
Termination
Apple may terminate the agreement "at any time" if the licensee breaches it. The licensee must then stop using all Apple Machine Learning Research Models and Model Derivatives and permanently delete any copies.12

Records in the catalog that use it (2)

Each row is one license entry on a record, with the component it covers. A record can use several licenses.
RecordCoversLicense as recorded
FastVLM 7BWeightsApple Machine Learning Research Model License Agreement
OpenELM 3B InstructWeightsApple Machine Learning Research Model License Agreement

Sources

  1. 1.
    Apple Machine Learning Research Model License Agreement (OpenELM-3B-Instruct LICENSE) (external site: huggingface.co)

    Apple (Hugging Face) · License · accessed Oct 8, 2026

  2. 2.
    Apple Machine Learning Research Model License Agreement (FastVLM-7B LICENSE) (external site: huggingface.co)

    Apple (Hugging Face) · License · accessed Oct 8, 2026

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