This analysis describes what DeepSeek's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
The clause creates a strong disincentive against patent litigation targeting the Model by making the filing of such a suit the automatic trigger for loss of the licensee's own patent rights under the License.
Interpretive note: The excerpt uses ellipses, indicating the full clause may contain additional conditions or qualifications not visible in the quoted text.
If you initiate patent litigation alleging the Model or Complementary Material infringes your patent, you lose the patent licenses DeepSeek granted you.
How other platforms handle this
If you believe that your intellectual property rights have been infringed, please send notice to the address below or fill out this form.
The license granted to you for the App is a limited, non-transferable license to use the App on Mac product that you own or control and as permitted by the Usage Rules that are part of the terms of service in the Mac App Store.
"If You institute patent litigation against any entity...alleging that the Model and/or Complementary Material constitutes direct or contributory patent infringement, then any patent licenses granted to You...shall terminate...Excerpt from DeepSeek's Open Source License
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The clause creates a strong disincentive against patent litigation targeting the Model by making the filing of such a suit the automatic trigger for loss of the licensee's own patent rights under the License.
If you initiate patent litigation alleging the Model or Complementary Material infringes your patent, you lose the patent licenses DeepSeek granted you.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 250 platforms. See the full comparison.
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