diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5fcc58a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE LICENSE
+
+Copyright (c) 2026 Raphael Maenle.  All rights reserved.
+
+This software and its associated source code, documentation, build
+scripts, configuration files, generated artifacts, and any
+accompanying materials (collectively, the "Software") are the
+proprietary and confidential property of Raphael Maenle (the
+"Licensor").
+
+NO LICENSE IS GRANTED BY DEFAULT.
+
+Possession of, or access to, the Software (including by virtue of
+encountering it in a public source repository) does NOT grant any
+right to use, copy, modify, compile, link against, distribute,
+sublicense, evaluate, benchmark, reverse-engineer, train machine
+learning models on, or create derivative works of the Software,
+in whole or in part.
+
+Any of the foregoing requires a separate written license agreement
+signed by the Licensor.  Without such an agreement, the only
+permitted activity is to view the Software in its original
+unmodified form within the repository in which it was made
+available.
+
+Permitted-by-implication carve-outs typical of open-source licenses
+(fair use, evaluation, internal testing, academic research,
+non-production deployment, demonstration, code review for
+contribution purposes, etc.) are NOT granted by this license.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
+EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
+MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND
+NONINFRINGEMENT.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE LICENSOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY
+CLAIM, DAMAGES, OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF
+CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF, OR IN
+CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
+
+For licensing inquiries — including commercial use, evaluation,
+fab deployment, SDK integration, or any activity beyond viewing —
+contact:
+
+    Raphael Maenle
+    r.maenle@gmail.com
+
+SPDX-License-Identifier: LicenseRef-Proprietary
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 621be18..74c5fa1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -12,6 +12,11 @@ process-jobs, control-jobs, exceptions).  See **[COMPLIANCE.md](COMPLIANCE.md)**
 for the per-capability audit and **[INTEGRATION.md](INTEGRATION.md)** for
 the vendor-side tutorial.
 
+> **License: proprietary — see [LICENSE](LICENSE).**  No use, copy,
+> compile, evaluate, benchmark, or deploy without a written license
+> from the copyright holder.  Contact `r.maenle@gmail.com` for
+> commercial licensing, evaluation terms, or fab deployment.
+
 ## Quick start
 
 Everything runs in Docker — no compiler or build tools on the host.