When you make a repository public on Hugging Face, every other user on the platform automatically gets a permanent, irrevocable right to use, copy, share, and build on your content — and you cannot take that permission back.
This analysis describes what Hugging Face'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 defines the scope of rights granted upon public designation of a Repository. By setting a Repository public, the user grants specified usage and derivative rights to all platform users under an irrevocable license structure, establishing the operational framework for content distribution and reuse within the platform.
Any model weights, datasets, or code published to a public Hugging Face repository are permanently licensed to all users worldwide with no ability to revoke — making accidental public disclosure of proprietary or sensitive content irreversible.
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"If you decide to set your Repository public, you grant each User a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use, display, publish, reproduce, distribute, and make derivative works of your Content through our Services and functionalities.— Excerpt from Hugging Face's Hugging Face Terms of Service
(1) REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: This provision implicates 17 U.S.C. §106 (U.S. Copyright Act) — the license granted is a copyright sublicense extending to all platform users, and its perpetual irrevocable nature means the original author cannot exercise their §106(3) distribution right to restrict further use once public. Under EU law, this intersects with the EU Copyright Directive (2019/790) and may conflict with moral rights frameworks in EU member states that cannot be contractually waived. The FTC (15 U.S.C. §45) could scrutinize whether users are adequately informed of this irrevocability at the point of publication. (2)
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The clause defines the scope of rights granted upon public designation of a Repository. By setting a Repository public, the user grants specified usage and derivative rights to all platform users under an irrevocable license structure, establishing the operational framework for content distribution and reuse within the platform.
Any model weights, datasets, or code published to a public Hugging Face repository are permanently licensed to all users worldwide with no ability to revoke — making accidental public disclosure of proprietary or sensitive content irreversible.
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