License traps in open models: not every 'open source' allows commercial use

'Open model' is a misleading phrase. Many widely used models ship under restricted licenses that may limit commercial scale, specific uses, or require derivative models to stay open.

The first thing to watch is the acceptable-use policy (AUP): licenses often attach a list of prohibited uses, and violations can terminate the grant.

The second is scale thresholds: some licenses set monthly-active-user or revenue thresholds, above which a separate commercial license is required.

The third is derivative and redistribution duties: whether a fine-tuned model must keep the same license or publish weights affects your business model. Checking line by line before launch is the cheapest compliance there is.