The Hidden Catch

Note: I am not a legal expert, this article is merely my interpretation and its purpose is only and only to open a discussion and to take you on a journey of discovering conflicts between the licenses listed below:

• "CreativeML Open RAIL++-M License"

• "Fair AI Public License 1.0-SD"

• "Noob AI XL Model License".

Imagine this: You're an AI creator. You're scrolling around, and you find this new model — it's perfect! The stuff it generates is gorgeous, and you can feel your creativity taking off. The best part? It's completely free to use! It sounds almost too good to be true, doesn't it? Well, yes. But as one community found out, there is a catch buried in the fine print. It could completely change what you're allowed to do with the art you create. This brings us to the first part.

1. The Discovery

It was here that users found the catch we were talking about, buried in the license of Noob AI XL, a few rules that just felt wrong. The first big red flag was this little gem:

"We prohibit any form of commercialization, including but not limited to monetization or commercial use of the model, derivative models, or model-generated products".

Wow! So if you're planning to sell your art, use it for a client, or make any money from it, you're out of luck. Apparently it's not allowed.

And it gets weirder. The license also requires:

"Share work details such as synthesis formulas, prompts, and workflows".

Can you believe this? You have to share your entire creative process, your secret sauce! For many creators, that's like a magician explaining every trick to the audience. It's just not done, and it leads us to the big question: Can you take someone else's open-source work and add new rules that restrict your freedom? To figure that out, we've got to follow the trail.

2. Following The Trail

We're going back to the source. You have to understand that most of these AI models aren't built from scratch. They're derivatives. They're built on top of other models.

To get the real story, you have to trace the family tree all the way back to the first license. The lineage looks like this:

• Noob AI XL

• is based on Illustrious XL, which uses the...

• Fair AI Public License 1.0-SD, which is based on the...

• Stability AI CreativeML Open RAIL++-M License

This last one, the original license from Stability AI, is the key to this entire puzzle.

3. Assembling the Puzzle

Now that we have the pieces, let's put them together and see what the rules really are.

3.1 The Foundation: The SDXL License

The original license from Stability AI forms the basis of everything. While it is quite permissive, its most important promise concerns what you create. Here it is, straight from the source:

"The Output You Generate. Except as set forth herein, Licensor claims no rights in the Output You generate using the Model. You are accountable for the Output you generate and its subsequent uses. No use of the output can contravene any provision as stated in the License".

Let that sink in. The people who created the original model claim no rights to your creations. That means you own it. It's yours. This fundamental freedom is granted to every user from the very beginning.

3.2 The Lock: The Fair AI Public License 1.0-SD

The next license in the chain, used by Illustrious XL, takes the freedom of the SDXL license and adds one crucial rule: Share-Alike. Think of it as "what you get is what you must give". If you modify a model under this license, you must release your new version under the exact same rules. Here you have it from the source itself too:

"[...] This software, all source code, and all modifications must be provided under this license or another license that allows everything this license allows. Note that this does not give you permission to change the license for this software."

And:

"The output of this software is not covered by this license, and no contributor claims any rights to it."

3.3 The Verdict: The Broken Rules

Now for the last piece. Noob AI is based on Illustrious XL, so it is bound to the strict "Share-Alike" rule of the Fair AI Public License. This means that Noob AI had to pass on all the original freedoms without adding new restrictions. Instead, they did just the opposite. They added a ban on commercial use and a requirement to share your creative process. Both are clear violations of the "no rights in the output" promise and the "Share-Alike" principle. The mystery is solved: the restrictive rules in the Noob AI license do not comply with the licenses it is based on, and are therefore likely unenforceable.

Sources:(Noob AI XL, Fair AI Public License 1.0-SD, CreativeML Open RAIL++-M License)