Free · Email-gated · South Africa

Free API Licence Agreement Skeleton

Attorney-drafted starter for South African API providers giving developers programmatic access. Licence grant, key security, rate limits and POPIA — fill in the blanks and sign.

Written by

Martin Kotze

Attorney, Conveyancer & Notary Public

About
Quick answer

This is a starter API Licence Agreement for a South African provider giving a developer programmatic access to an API. It covers the licence grant and restrictions, API-key security (the developer is responsible for everything done under its keys), rate limits and acceptable use, fees, IP ownership, data and POPIA, warranties and a liability cap, and suspension and termination. The technical specifics — endpoints, scopes and quotas — live in a Schedule and your published API documentation. Complete the cover-page details and the [ ● ] fields, then both parties sign. It is a starting point, not legal advice — for a high-value or high-risk integration, have it tailored.

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What’s in the template

Licence grant — non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable access to the API
Restrictions — no reverse-engineering, no competing service, no reselling access
API-key security — the developer is responsible for all activity under its keys
Key rotation + a compromise-notification obligation
Provider right to suspend or revoke keys for security or abuse
Rate limits, usage quotas + throttling to protect stability
Acceptable-use rules tied to the documentation and the law
Fees basis — free, per-call, tiered or subscription
Intellectual-property ownership of the API and Provider Data
Data + POPIA handling for data accessed through the API
Warranties, disclaimers + a liability cap
Suspension, term + termination, with a Schedule for the technical specifics

What it’s not

A skeleton is a starting point, not a substitute for an attorney. It doesn’t cover:

  • Deep data-protection terms where the API exposes personal information at scale — pair this with a POPIA operator agreement.
  • Bespoke commercial terms for a strategic, revenue-share or exclusive API partnership.
  • Open-source or SDK licensing for client libraries you distribute to developers.

Want it tailored to your API?

When the integration carries real money or real data, we draft a bespoke API agreement for your specific endpoints, scopes and commercial model — or just review your version in 24 hours from R7,500.

Bespoke agreement drafting24-hour review

Why you can trust this: Martin Kotze has been an admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa, registered Conveyancer, and Notary Public since 2014, practising from Pretoria. The firm is regulated by the Legal Practice Council under firm registration F17333.

This guide is general information, not legal advice for your specific matter.