A builder, not a copy of the standard

The project’s defining boundary is:

dicom-standard-kb is a knowledge-base builder, not an open-source copy of the DICOM Standard knowledge base.

What the repository contains

The public source repository contains original project material such as:

acquisition and edition-resolution code;
DocBook parsers;
canonical intermediate models;
SQLite migrations and importers;
deterministic resolver functions;
CLI and MCP adapters;
small synthetic and minimal attributed fixtures;
tests, examples, and documentation.

The repository’s original source code is licensed under Apache-2.0.

What users build locally

A user can acquire or register:

official DocBook XML;
optional official PDF, HTML, CHTML, and target databases;
a source manifest with checksums;
a generated SQLite knowledge base;
a local full-text index over persisted document text.

Those artifacts are not project distributions. Their copyright, terminology, and redistribution boundaries are not changed by the repository’s code license.

Why the distinction matters

A prebuilt database or full parsed export could redistribute substantial standard or terminology content. Building locally preserves the relationship between the user’s official source acquisition, concrete edition, manifest, and generated facts.

The same rule applies to PS3.16 content:

local SR template and context-group lookup is supported;
a standalone terminology dump or bulk coded-concept export is not a project release artifact.

Public query design follows the same boundary

Normal tools return:

bounded structured facts;
official references;
short capped text excerpts when explicitly requested.

They do not expose a full-standard export or database download endpoint.

Authority boundary

The official DICOM Standard remains the authority. The project:

is not affiliated with or endorsed by NEMA, MITA, or the DICOM Standards Committee;
does not provide official DICOM conformance certification;
can support implementation, review, and validation workflows;
preserves citations so a user can inspect the official source.

A successful lookup is evidence from a particular local build, not an independent standards ruling.

Practical implications

When sharing a project setup:

share code and configuration;
document how to fetch and build;
share small project-authored fixtures where appropriate;
do not attach the official source cache or full generated database;
do not publish a full-text or terminology export;
keep the legal notice with generated manifests and user-facing metadata.

See Project legal and redistribution for the practical release checklist.