MarketLight Specification

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MarketLight Specification

See the Innovation Clearly.

Specification Overview

MarketLight is an open-source, global marketplace specification designed to create a transparent, trustworthy, creator-centered system for commerce and innovation. The platform combines verified product information, seller accountability, temporary creator exclusivity, open-source product transitions, competitive pricing, secure payments, global commerce, and community participation.

MarketLight is designed as a modular system. Core modules define the essential marketplace capabilities, while optional plugin modules extend the platform without requiring every deployment to implement every capability.

The software is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0+).

Core Principles

Transparency must be built into every marketplace transaction.
Product claims must be verifiable.
Reviews must represent genuine user experiences.
Sellers must be identifiable and accountable.
Manufacturing and sourcing information must be visible.
Creators must receive recognition for their original work.
Temporary exclusivity should encourage innovation without creating permanent monopolies.
Competition should increase availability and reduce prices.
Open-source releases should allow products to be reproduced, improved, and adapted.
Users must have strong security and privacy protections.
Global commerce must support multiple currencies and jurisdictions.
Marketplace governance must be auditable and understandable.
The platform must avoid unnecessary vendor lock-in.

Core Modules

Identity and Account Module

The Identity and Account Module shall provide secure accounts for consumers, creators, sellers, manufacturers, contributors, administrators, and other marketplace participants.

Capabilities shall include:

Account registration and authentication
Secure session management
Profile management
Account recovery
Role-based access control
Two-factor authentication
WebAuthn and hardware security key support
TOTP authentication
Account activity history
Security notifications
Account verification status
Privacy controls
Account deletion and data management

Seller Verification and Licensing Module

Every seller shall maintain a transparent business profile.

Seller profiles shall include:

Legal business name
Country where the business is licensed or registered
State, province, territory, or equivalent license information where applicable
Applicable business registration information
Verification status
Business category
Seller reputation
Marketplace history
Applicable certifications

The module shall support jurisdiction-specific verification workflows and shall distinguish between information supplied by the seller and information independently verified by the platform.

Creator and Inventor Module

The Creator and Inventor Module shall provide tools for registering, managing, documenting, and commercializing original products.

Capabilities shall include:

Creator profiles
Product ownership records
Original creation timestamps
Product documentation
Design asset management
Product versioning
Collaboration management
Contributor attribution
Sales analytics
Product performance analytics
Derivative tracking
Creator reputation
Product lifecycle management

Exclusive Rights Module

The Exclusive Rights Module shall manage temporary marketplace exclusivity for qualifying products.

Creators may select or be assigned an exclusivity period of:

3 months
6 months
9 months

The system shall record:

Original creator
Product registration date
Exclusivity start date
Exclusivity expiration date
Applicable exclusivity period
Reason or classification supporting the selected period
Product status

The system shall automatically transition a product when its exclusivity period expires.

MarketLight shall not represent platform exclusivity as a substitute for legally granted patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights. Legal intellectual property rights remain subject to applicable law.

Open Product Release Module

After the MarketLight exclusive rights period expires, the product shall enter its designated open-source release stage.

The release record shall include:

Original creator
Original product name
Product documentation
Applicable source materials
Design files where provided
Manufacturing specifications where provided
Version history
Release timestamp
Applicable open-source license
Original attribution information

The platform shall preserve the original creator’s identity and brand information while allowing qualified derivatives and competing implementations.

MarketLight shall distinguish between open-source product materials and protected trademarks, trade names, logos, or other rights that do not automatically become available through an open-source license.

Product Catalog Module

The Product Catalog Module shall provide standardized product records.

Every product listing shall support:

Product name
Brand
Creator
Seller
Product description
Specifications
Dimensions
Materials
Intended use
Safety information
Pricing
Availability
Product lifecycle status
Exclusivity status
Open-source status
Version information
Manufacturing information
Supporting documentation

Manufacturing Transparency Module

Every physical product listing shall contain a mandatory Manufacturing Information section.

The section shall identify, where applicable:

Country of manufacture
Country of assembly
Countries where major components were sourced
Material sourcing information
Manufacturing partners
Assembly partners
Relevant supply-chain information

Sellers shall identify whether information is seller-provided, manufacturer-provided, independently verified, or otherwise documented.

Changes to manufacturing information shall be versioned and auditable.

Claims Verification Module

The Claims Verification Module shall evaluate product claims before and after publication.

The system shall support verification of:

Product specifications
Performance claims
Certifications
Manufacturing claims
Material claims
Safety claims
Sustainability claims
Health or wellness claims where legally permitted
Comparative claims
Warranty claims

Claims shall have verification states such as:

Unverified
Submitted
Under review
Verified
Disputed
Rejected
Expired

The platform shall never present an unverified claim as independently verified.

Review Integrity Module

The Review Integrity Module shall provide trustworthy product feedback.

Capabilities shall include:

Verified purchase indicators
Review authentication
Fraud detection
Bot detection
Duplicate review detection
Review manipulation detection
Seller review analysis
Reviewer reputation
Review dispute workflows
Review moderation
Review history
Transparent moderation reasons

The system shall prohibit fabricated reviews, paid undisclosed reviews, automated review manipulation, and fraudulent ratings.

Product Authenticity Module

The Product Authenticity Module shall help distinguish original products, authorized products, open-source derivatives, and unauthorized representations.

Capabilities shall include:

Product identity records
Creator records
Version records
Authenticity verification
Derivative relationships
Authorized seller relationships
Product provenance
Counterfeit reporting
Brand misuse reporting

Dynamic Pricing Module

The Dynamic Pricing Module shall support competitive marketplace pricing.

Capabilities shall include:

Price comparison
Price history
Price-drop notifications
Price-match mechanisms
Seller pricing tools
Competitive product comparisons
Currency-adjusted pricing
Bulk pricing
Subscription pricing
Promotional pricing

Price matching shall operate according to clearly published rules and shall not facilitate unlawful price coordination or other anticompetitive behavior.

Marketplace Module

The Marketplace Module shall connect consumers, creators, sellers, manufacturers, and service providers.

Capabilities shall include:

Product discovery
Search
Filtering
Categories
Product comparison
Shopping carts
Wish lists
Orders
Order tracking
Returns
Refunds
Seller storefronts
Product recommendations
Notifications

Payment Module

The Payment Module shall provide secure marketplace payment functionality through supported payment providers.

Capabilities shall include:

Buyer payments
Seller payouts
Payment authorization
Refunds
Payment status tracking
Escrow workflows where supported
Transaction records
Receipts
Fraud detection
Payment dispute workflows

The platform shall avoid storing sensitive payment credentials when a compliant payment provider can securely handle them.

Multi-Currency Module

The Multi-Currency Module shall support global commerce.

Capabilities shall include:

Multiple fiat currencies
Currency conversion
Exchange-rate retrieval
Currency conversion previews
Seller settlement currencies
Buyer payment currencies
Currency-aware pricing
Exchange-rate timestamps
Transaction conversion records

Currency services shall be implemented through appropriately licensed financial or payment providers where required.

International Commerce Module

The International Commerce Module shall support cross-border transactions.

Capabilities shall include:

Country-specific seller information
Shipping destinations
Import and export information
Duties and taxes
Currency handling
Regional restrictions
International shipping information
Transaction compliance workflows

Security Module

The Security Module shall provide defense-in-depth security across the platform.

Capabilities shall include:

Encryption in transit
Encryption at rest
Secure credential storage
Two-factor authentication
WebAuthn
Session security
Device management
Rate limiting
Abuse detection
Security logging
Vulnerability management
Secure secrets management
Administrative access controls

Sensitive private communications shall support end-to-end encryption where the communication architecture permits true end-to-end encryption.

Privacy Module

The Privacy Module shall provide user control over personal information.

Capabilities shall include:

Privacy settings
Data minimization
Consent management
Data export
Data deletion workflows
Access controls
Retention policies
Privacy auditing
Regional privacy compliance

KYC and Compliance Module

The KYC and Compliance Module shall support identity and business verification workflows where legally or operationally required.

Capabilities shall include:

Individual verification
Business verification
Seller verification
Identity document verification
Beneficial ownership workflows where applicable
Risk assessment
Sanctions screening integrations
AML workflow integrations
Verification status management
Compliance audit records

MarketLight shall support configurable jurisdiction-specific compliance rather than assuming that one KYC process applies globally.

Trust and Reputation Module

The Trust and Reputation Module shall provide transparent reputation systems for marketplace participants.

Reputation data may include:

Verified transactions
Review history
Product quality
Seller conduct
Dispute history
Fulfillment performance
Verification status
Contribution history
Community participation

Reputation systems shall provide safeguards against manipulation and should avoid reducing complex user behavior to a single opaque score.

Product Lifecycle Module

The Product Lifecycle Module shall track products from creation through open-source release and subsequent derivatives.

Lifecycle states may include:

Concept
Submitted
Verification
Exclusive
Active
Open-source release
Derivative
Archived
Discontinued

Every state transition shall be timestamped and auditable.

Provenance and Audit Module

The Provenance and Audit Module shall maintain verifiable records of significant marketplace events.

Records may include:

Product creation
Creator registration
Seller verification
Claim verification
Manufacturing information
Product versions
Reviews
Pricing events
Exclusivity periods
Open-source releases
Derivatives
Transactions
Administrative actions

The implementation may use cryptographic signatures, append-only logs, distributed ledgers, or other verifiable technologies.

Search and Discovery Module

The Search and Discovery Module shall provide fast and transparent product discovery.

Capabilities shall include:

Full-text search
Product filtering
Category search
Creator search
Seller search
Manufacturing-origin search
Country search
Open-source product search
Verified product search
Price comparison
Search ranking transparency

Notification Module

The Notification Module shall provide configurable notifications for:

Orders
Price changes
Product releases
Exclusivity expiration
Review activity
Verification status
Security events
Messages
Seller activity
Open-source updates

Creator Collaboration Module

The Creator Collaboration Module shall allow creators and contributors to work together.

Capabilities shall include:

Shared projects
Collaboration invitations
Contribution tracking
Version management
Attribution
Design discussions
Product improvement proposals
Open-source contribution workflows

Community Module

The Community Module shall support constructive participation around products and innovation.

Capabilities shall include:

Discussions
Product feedback
Improvement proposals
Creator updates
Community moderation
Contributor recognition
Verified participation
Community reporting

Gamification Module

The Gamification Module shall optionally reward constructive participation.

Potential activities include:

Verified reviews
Accurate product feedback
Fraud reporting
Documentation improvements
Open-source contributions
Product testing
Community assistance

Rewards shall not incentivize fraudulent reviews, artificial engagement, or manipulation of marketplace rankings.

Innovation Impact Module

The Innovation Impact Module shall provide structured information about a product’s potential contribution to global wellbeing.

Potential evaluation areas include:

Accessibility
Resource efficiency
Public benefit
Affordability
Safety
Sustainability
Infrastructure improvement
Humanitarian value
Scientific advancement

Impact classifications shall be transparent and should be reviewable rather than determined solely by an opaque algorithm.

Optional Plugin Modules

AI Verification Plugin

Provides optional AI-assisted analysis for:

Product claims
Review fraud
Seller behavior
Product similarity
Counterfeit detection
Documentation analysis
Marketplace abuse

AI results shall remain subject to human review where decisions materially affect users.

Blockchain Provenance Plugin

Provides optional distributed ledger functionality for:

Product timestamps
Provenance records
Exclusivity transitions
Open-source releases
Product versions
Verification events

Blockchain technology shall be optional rather than a mandatory dependency of the core marketplace.

Escrow Plugin

Provides escrow functionality through supported financial providers.

Cryptocurrency Payment Plugin

Adds supported cryptocurrency payment methods while maintaining applicable compliance and transaction safeguards.

AR Product Preview Plugin

Provides augmented reality product visualization through supported web and mobile technologies.

3D Fabrication Plugin

Connects open-source product designs with:

3D printers
CNC machines
Maker spaces
Fabrication services
Local manufacturing providers

Translation Plugin

Provides multilingual product descriptions, documentation, reviews, and marketplace interfaces while preserving the original source text.

Recommendation Plugin

Provides optional personalized product discovery based on user-selected preferences and marketplace activity.

Analytics Plugin

Provides optional analytics for:

Sellers
Creators
Product performance
Pricing
Reviews
Manufacturing
Marketplace activity

Analytics should prioritize privacy and avoid unnecessary collection of personal information.

External Marketplace Integration Plugin

Allows compatible third-party marketplaces and commerce platforms to exchange standardized product, pricing, inventory, licensing, and provenance information.

Shipping Integration Plugin

Connects MarketLight with supported shipping and fulfillment providers.

Tax and Duties Plugin

Provides jurisdiction-specific integrations for applicable sales taxes, VAT, customs duties, and related calculations.

Grants and Funding Plugin

Allows communities, organizations, or institutions to fund selected innovations, open-source projects, prototypes, or products.

Artificial Intelligence Requirements

AI systems used by MarketLight shall be designed to assist rather than replace accountable marketplace governance.

AI systems should provide:

Explainable results where practical
Confidence indicators
Human review workflows
Audit records
Bias testing
Model version tracking
False-positive reporting
False-negative reporting
Appeal mechanisms

No AI system shall be treated as inherently truthful solely because it produces a confidence score.

Data Integrity Requirements

Marketplace records shall support:

Versioning
Timestamps
Source attribution
Change history
Verification status
Cryptographic integrity where appropriate
Auditability
Dispute resolution

Historical records shall not be silently overwritten when material marketplace information changes.

Governance Requirements

MarketLight shall provide transparent governance mechanisms for significant marketplace policies.

Governance capabilities should include:

Published policies
Moderation standards
Appeal procedures
Product dispute procedures
Seller dispute procedures
Verification standards
Licensing policies
Security reporting
Community feedback
Administrative audit trails

API Requirements

MarketLight shall provide an API architecture capable of exposing authorized marketplace data and services.

The API should support:

Authentication
Authorization
Products
Sellers
Creators
Reviews
Orders
Pricing
Licensing
Provenance
Manufacturing information
Open-source releases
Notifications
Webhooks
Plugin integrations

API access shall respect privacy, security, licensing, and authorization requirements.

Interoperability

MarketLight should favor open standards and portable data formats.

The platform should support:

Exportable product records
Portable creator profiles
Portable seller information
Standardized licensing metadata
Machine-readable product information
API-based integrations
Import and export workflows

Accessibility

The platform shall be designed for broad accessibility.

Requirements should include:

Keyboard navigation
Screen reader compatibility
Accessible forms
Appropriate contrast
Text alternatives
Responsive interfaces
Accessible authentication workflows
Accessible product information
Internationalization support

Observability

Deployments should provide appropriate operational visibility through:

Application logs
Security logs
Performance metrics
Error tracking
Service health monitoring
Audit logs
Transaction monitoring

Logs shall avoid unnecessary exposure of personal or sensitive information.

Deployment

MarketLight should support multiple deployment models, including:

Self-hosted deployments
Community deployments
Institutional deployments
Cloud deployments
Hybrid deployments

The architecture should minimize dependence on any single cloud provider, payment provider, AI provider, blockchain network, or external marketplace.

Technology Stack

The reference implementation may use:

Frontend: React and Next.js
Styling: Tailwind CSS or another open-source styling framework
Mobile: React Native
Backend: Node.js with Express or NestJS
Database: PostgreSQL
Caching: Redis
Search: Elasticsearch or OpenSearch
AI/ML: PyTorch or TensorFlow
AR: WebXR, ARKit, and ARCore
Containers: Docker
Orchestration: Kubernetes where required
CI/CD: Codeberg-compatible automation and open-source CI tooling
Blockchain: Optional Ethereum, Polygon, or another compatible network
Payments: PCI-compliant external payment providers
Currency: External exchange-rate and financial service providers

The technology stack is modular and may be replaced with equivalent open-source technologies without changing the MarketLight specification.

Security Principles

MarketLight shall prioritize:

Least-privilege access
Secure defaults
Defense in depth
Encryption
Strong authentication
Secure software development
Dependency monitoring
Vulnerability disclosure
Regular security auditing
Protection against account takeover
Protection against marketplace fraud

Fraud Prevention

The platform shall actively detect and address:

Fake reviews
Review manipulation
Identity fraud
Seller impersonation
Counterfeit products
Misleading product claims
Payment fraud
Account abuse
Marketplace manipulation
Artificial engagement
Licensing violations
Unauthorized brand use

Fraud prevention systems shall include mechanisms for legitimate users to appeal incorrect decisions.

Product Competition Model

When a product’s exclusive period expires, competing products and derivatives may enter the marketplace according to the applicable open-source licensing and legal requirements.

Competitors shall not:

Misrepresent themselves as the original creator
Use protected trademarks without authorization
Falsely claim to be the original product
Fabricate reviews
Misrepresent manufacturing origins
Make unsupported claims

Competition should increase consumer choice, encourage improvement, and place downward pressure on prices.

Open-Source Product Model

The MarketLight product lifecycle is intended to create a continuous innovation cycle:

Create → Verify → Exclusive Release → Compete → Open Release → Improve → Derive → Reintroduce

Open-source product releases should preserve:

Creator attribution
Product history
Licensing information
Version history
Documentation
Provenance
Applicable brand protections

The software implementing MarketLight is licensed under AGPL-3.0+, while individual marketplace products and their intellectual property may require separate licensing terms. Product licensing shall therefore be explicitly represented as metadata rather than automatically assumed to be the same as the platform software license.

Transparency Standards

MarketLight should make important marketplace information understandable to users.

Users should be able to determine:

Who sells a product
Where the seller is registered
Where the product was manufactured
Where it was assembled
Where major components originated
Who created the product
Whether the product is exclusive
When exclusivity expires
Whether the product is open source
Which license applies
What claims have been verified
Whether reviews represent verified purchases
How the current price compares with competing offers

Specification Branding License (SBL)

Standard

Fully AGPL-3.0+ compliant system
Copyleft enforced for network deployments
Required attribution:
- Roxanne Ardary
- https://www.roxanneardary.com/

Optional

Specification Branding License (SBL)
- Attribution-free commercial deployment
- Pricing based on scale, usage, and deployment scope
- https://roxanneardary.com/marketlight/

License & Notice Requirements

MarketLight is released under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0+).
By contributing to this project, you agree that your contributions will also be released under this license.

Please note the following:

All contributions must comply with the AGPL-3.0+ terms.
Under Section 7 of the license, all redistributions, forks, and derivative works must preserve attribution to:
Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com.
MarketLight specifications are free to use with attribution. A Specification Branding License can be negotiated upon request.
The project’s notice.md file tracks attribution requirements and contributor acknowledgments.
Any update that adds new contributors or modifies attribution should also update notice.md.
When submitting a pull request, ensure that any new files maintain the attribution headers where applicable.
Network-deployed versions of this software must also remain fully AGPL-3.0+ compliant, including exposure of source code modifications when applicable under the license.

For full legal details, please refer to the AGPL-3.0+ license and the project’s notice.md file.

Notice – MarketLight

Attribution Requirement: Under Section 7 of the AGPL 3.0+ license, all redistributions, forks, and derivative works, including network-deployed versions of this project, must provide attribution to Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com.

Contributors

This file tracks contributors and their specific contributions to the project.

Roxanne Ardary, roxanneardary.com – March 9, 2026
Created the repository for MarketLight. Developed the open-source global marketplace platform with AGPL-3.0+ licensing, verified reviews, seller transparency, and manufacturing information tracking.
[Add other contributors here] – [Date]
[Describe contribution in one sentence]

License – MarketLight

This repository is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0+).

Key Points

You are free to use, modify, and distribute the code.
All redistributions, forks, and derivative works or network-deployed versions must also be licensed under AGPL-3.0+ and provide attribution to Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com as required under Section 7 of the license.
The software is provided “as is,” without warranty of any kind.

For the full license text, see GNU AGPL-3.0 License.