The Genozip License defines the exact cases for which use of Genozip is free. To illustrate, here are some examples: Examples of applications for which use of Genozip is FREE: Evaluation License: You may use Genozip for 30 days to see whether Genozip fits your needs. Academic License: You are conducting a study at a recognized academic research institution, but excluding a case in which the data was obtained by you or your institution in the context of a paid service. Academic License: You are a researcher at a university conducting research using data obtained from an unrelated collaborating hospital. While the hospital would require a Standard (i.e. paid) License to use Genozip, the University can use a free Academic License if it is not using the data for providing a service for which it got paid. Academic License: You are teaching a course in bioinformatics, using Genozip to teach data compression. Decompression License: decompressing files previously compressed with Genozip is always free. Distribution License: Distributing the Genozip software to others, for example, as a module on an HPC, is free. Each user will need to register individually. Special License: Using Genozip in the context of developing an interface and/or testing compatibility with another software or hardware product is usually eligible for a free license subject to pre-approval - please inquire at sales@genozip.com. Examples of applications that require purchasing a Standard License: Hospital or diagnostic lab: The genomic data is considered Your Commercial Data as it was obtained in the context of providing a service (for example, diagnosis) for which you got paid. This is even if the organization itself is registered as a non-profit. Research hospital: Your organization obtained the genomic data in the context of providing a service for which it got paid (for example, a clinical service), and you are also using the data to conduct scientific research. The data is considered Your Commercial Data, and hence requires a Standard License. Consulting engagement: You are an academic researcher providing research as a paid consulting engagement. Since you or your institution are getting paid for the service, data obtained in context of this service is considered Your Commercial Data, and hence a Standard License is required. Product: You are developing a product, such as a pharmaceutical, agricultural, food, software or hardware product. Service: You are providing a service to your customers, such as laboratory services, medical services, DNA sequencing, DNA analysis, bioinformatics, SaaS or cloud. If you are unsure which category covers your use case, please ask us at sales@genozip.com.

In principal, hospitals of any kind are not eligible for an academic license. This is because the genomic data they possess is usually an outcome of a clinical service they provided, for which they got paid, and hence would fall under the "commercial data" definition in the Genozip license. However, if your only interest is just compressing a limited volume of data for your own research project, which is not part of a larger data repository that extends beyond your project, we might grant you an academic license as an exception on a case-by-case basis - please email support@genozip.com.

Genozip provides technical support to customers who purchased a Standard, Enterprise or Premium License. To ensure access to support, you will need to purchase a license.

Genozip is NOT an open source product, but rather a commercial, patent-pending, product. We nevertheless decided to make our code publicly available so that users can inspect it and gain confidence in the product, as well as to ensure that files compressed with Genozip are still decompressible decades ahead. However, using the code is still subject to the specified license, that requires paying a licensing fee (unless exempt). We know that by “leaving our shop open and unattended” we will inevitably encounter dishonest shoplifters. Nevertheless, we are encouraged to see that the vast majority of our users use our product honestly according to our license.

You can: - Star it on Github - Cite our publications - Recommend it on ResearchGate - Ask your institution's IT folks or bioinformaticians to install it centrally (e.g., as a module on the HPC) And best of all: you can show your support and contribute to Genozip's sustainability by purchasing a Standard or Enterprise License.

Yes! We love competition and thrive on it.