Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy

This Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy describes the ownership of the original code, design, and content that make up the eMunicipal academic demonstration system, and the terms under which third-party open-source components and assets are used.

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1. Original Code and Design

The original source code, database schema, application architecture, visual design, and written content of the eMunicipal system were created by the project's development team as an academic exercise. All original work in this project is the intellectual property of its authors.

The thematic concept of Biringan City as a fictional Philippine municipality is inspired by Philippine folklore and the public domain cultural tradition of the Biringan legend. The project does not claim ownership of the folklore itself, only of the original creative work expressed in this software.

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2. Third-Party Open-Source Components

This project makes use of the following open-source libraries and assets, each of which is used in accordance with its respective license:

• Bootstrap 5 — MIT License. A front-end framework used for layout, typography, and responsive design components.
• Bootstrap Icons — MIT License. Icon set used throughout the user interface.
• Google Fonts (Montserrat, Inter) — SIL Open Font License. Typography used for headings and body text.
• Chillerz/php-qrcode — MIT License. A PHP library used to generate QR codes for the simulated online payment demonstration.
• PHPMailer — LGPL-2.1 License. Used to send email notifications via the configured mail transport.
• vlucas/phpdotenv — BSD-3-Clause License. Used to load environment configuration from the .env file.

Full license texts for third-party components are available in the project's vendor/ directory and in each library's respective repository.

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3. Restrictions on Copying and Distribution

The original source code and design of eMunicipal are made available for academic review and demonstration only. You must not:

• Copy, redistribute, or sublicense the original source code for commercial purposes without explicit written permission from the authors.
• Remove or alter copyright notices, attribution statements, or license headers in the source code.
• Represent this system or any modified version of it as an official government service or product.
• Use the eMunicipal name, Biringan City branding, or associated visual design in a manner that misrepresents their academic and fictional nature.

Academic use, including reading, referencing, and quoting limited portions of the source code for educational purposes with proper attribution, is permitted.

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4. Reporting Intellectual Property Concerns

If you believe that content within this academic demonstration system infringes your intellectual property rights, or if you believe a third-party component has been used incorrectly or without proper attribution, please report the concern through the contact form on the homepage.

Please include the following in your report:

• Your name and contact information.
• A description of the intellectual property you believe has been infringed.
• The specific page, feature, or file within the System where the alleged infringement appears.
• A statement explaining the basis of your claim.

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5. Review Procedure

All intellectual property concerns will be reviewed by the project team in good faith. If a valid concern is identified, the project team will take appropriate corrective action, which may include attribution correction, removal of the infringing content, or replacement with a compliant alternative.

Because this is a non-commercial academic project, the review process is informal. There is no formal legal notice procedure or takedown timeline. However, the project team is committed to respecting intellectual property rights and will act promptly on credible reports.