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Q&A About License
Why is MiniMax-H3's open-weight license currently limited to the EU, UK, South Korea, and US?
MiniMax-H3 was built with the goal of global availability. The current territory scope is not about excluding specific countries or regions, but about recognizing that video generation models are facing a more complex and rapidly evolving regulatory environment compared with text or code models.
Regions such as the EU, UK, South Korea, and the US are currently developing or enforcing AI-related regulations that may have specific implications for generative video models, especially around areas such as likeness generation, copyright, content safety, and responsible deployment.
The EU AI Act has started enforcement, while practical requirements for models capable of generating video and likeness-related content are still evolving.
Similar regulatory uncertainties exist in the UK and South Korea regarding AI-generated content and video generation.
In the US, AI regulation remains a rapidly changing landscape, and MiniMax is also involved in ongoing copyright-related legal proceedings specifically concerning generative video AI.
For open-weight models, once the weights are released, developers can deploy and modify them independently. This creates different compliance challenges compared with hosted services.
We had two options:
Wait until every jurisdiction reaches complete regulatory clarity before releasing open weights, which could take a long time while AI technology continues to evolve.
Release the model now with a transparent license scope, while continuing to evaluate and expand availability.
We chose the second approach. The current limitation means "not yet", not "not ever."
Why can MiniMax-H3 API be used globally if open weights are restricted in some regions?
The difference is the distribution model.
The main concern is not the existence of MiniMax-H3 itself, but the ability to control compliance after open weights leave our infrastructure.
For API access, MiniMax operates the serving infrastructure and can enforce appropriate safeguards, including:
Protection against misuse involving minors.
Copyright-related compliance measures.
Content safety controls.
Compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
With open weights, users can independently deploy, modify, and distribute the model, which makes it much harder to ensure the same level of compliance.
Therefore, the API and open-weight release follow different approaches:
API: Globally available with built-in safeguards and responsible-use controls.
Open weights: Temporarily limited in certain regions until the regulatory and compliance framework becomes clearer.
Can organizations in restricted regions still use MiniMax-H3?
Yes.
Organizations in these regions can apply for a formal license. After reviewing the deployment scenario and confirming that appropriate compliance controls and safeguards are implemented, MiniMax may authorize usage.
Application form >> https://platform.minimax.io/h3-license
Through authorized deployments, MiniMax can ensure that MiniMax-H3 is used responsibly while meeting local legal and regulatory requirements.
Will MiniMax expand open-weight availability in the future?
Yes. We will continue monitoring legal developments and reassessing the territory scope.
Our commitments:
Continuously review regulations and compliance requirements across regions.
Keep MiniMax-H3 API available globally, so users can continue accessing the model.
Clearly communicate any future license changes instead of making silent updates.
Listen to feedback from developers, researchers, and organizations affected by these restrictions.
Our goal remains the same: bringing intelligence to everyone with responsible AI use.
The current license scope reflects today's regulatory reality, not our long-term vision.
This regional carve-out stems from our ongoing generative video copyright litigation with major Hollywood studios.
We aim to deliver our AI tools globally to all users responsibly. US-based persons looking to deploy MiniMax-H3 may submit formal licensing requests. Licenses will be issued to applicants who commit to implementing robust compliance controls and guardrails fully aligned with US legal, compliance and regulatory requirements.
for the EU, UK, and South Korea. This regional carve-out is driven by ongoing regulatory evolution surrounding AI-generated video content across these regions. Unlike hosted services, open-weight model releases allow developers to independently deploy and modify model weights, introducing unique compliance challenges amid the current regulatory uncertainties in these regions. We will continuously monitor and assess evolving local regulations to adjust our access policies. In the meantime, persons based in these regions seeking to deploy MiniMax-H3 may submit formal licensing requests. Licenses will be granted to applicants that commit to implementing robust compliance controls and guardrails fully aligned with local legal and regulatory standards.
Incredible work. Am I reading this right that users in excluded territories need a formal license just to post research outputs? Also why is the application hosted on a thrid-party Feishu link instead of Hugging Face or a MiniMax domain?
Hello. I am the creator of Sulpur 2, an uncensored finetune of LTX 2.3. I'm wondering if it would be within regulation to finetune h3 with the same manner of content, and then take a step further and host it on a website. There would of course be filters for legality.
Incredible work. Am I reading this right that users in excluded territories need a formal license just to post research outputs? Also why is the application hosted on a thrid-party Feishu link instead of Hugging Face or a MiniMax domain?
will use MiniMax domain very soon
Too bad I can't read
Licenses will be granted to applicants that commit to implementing robust compliance controls and guardrails fully aligned with local legal and regulatory standards.
how would they verify they wouldn't "misuse" it? nothing actually stops users in the sanctioned countries from downloading it, only companies will comply not to risk it
I’d appreciate a response of some kind—even if it is just an announcement regarding next model. “H3-Regenerate-2K" and "H3-Max" when release?
@ryanlee-dev Thanks for the earlier clarification. I have one follow-up to make sure I understand correctly.
I'm based in India and run the MiniMax H3 open weights locally on my own PC via SimpliGen (not through the MiniMax API or Hailuo).
Own monetized content:
Can I use videos generated locally with MiniMax H3 in my own monetized YouTube channel, where the videos are viewable worldwide, without obtaining a separate commercial license, provided I include the required “MiniMax-H3” attribution at the beginning or end?Paid client work:
Can I also use locally generated MiniMax H3 videos for paid client work—for example, creating a short promotional video for a local business and delivering the finished video file to the client—under the same Community License?
Or does paid client work require the separate commercial license referenced by Comfy at comfy.org/minimax/license?
Thank you!
I’d appreciate a response of some kind—even if it is just an announcement regarding next model.
@ShubhamP12 I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, but the two answers are in the LICENSE rather
than in the FAQ, so here is where to look.
Territory first, because it gates the rest. The FAQ's first heading reads as if the open-weight
license were limited to the EU, UK, South Korea and the US. The LICENSE definitions point the
other way:
- "Applicable Territory" means worldwide, excluding the Excluded Territories.
- "Excluded Territories" means the European Union, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Korea and
the United States of America.
So the license applies worldwide except those four regions, and India is inside the Applicable
Territory.
On commercial use, Section IV "Additional Commercial Terms" is the only place that constrains it:
- A separate prior written authorization from MiniMax (api@minimax.io, subject "MiniMax H3
licensing - authorization request") is required if your commercial products and services
generate more than 20 million US dollars in yearly revenue. - You must prominently display "MiniMax H3" on the user interface of the commercial product or
service that uses it.
So the trigger for a separate license is revenue above $20M/year, not monetisation as such. A
monetised YouTube channel and a paid client video both fall under that unless the business is
already past $20M a year. Item 2 applies regardless — and note it says "on the user interface of
the commercial product or service", which is not obviously the same thing as a credit at the
start or end of a video. That specific wording is worth confirming with MiniMax for your case
rather than relying on my reading.
The FAQ does not cover commercial use at all — it only covers territory — which may be why this
has been sitting unanswered.
I’d appreciate a response of some kind—even if it is just an announcement regarding next model.
@FlowForgeLabAi Thanks, that's helpful. My remaining question is about Section V.4 / AUP #1: if I run H3 in India (inside the Applicable Territory) and upload outputs to YouTube, which is viewable in the EU/UK/US/Korea, does that count as "displaying Outputs outside the Applicable Territory"? @ryanlee-dev could MiniMax confirm?
I’d appreciate a response of some kind—even if it is just an announcement regarding next model?
@ShubhamP12 Good question, and I want to be careful not to answer it as if it were settled, because the
clause is broader than the situation it is usually read for.
Section V.4 says, verbatim:
You may not use, reproduce, modify, distribute, or display the MiniMax H3 Works or any of
their Outputs or results outside the Applicable Territory. Any such use outside the
Applicable Territory is not authorized by this Agreement.
With Applicable Territory = worldwide excluding the Excluded Territories, and Excluded
Territories = EU, UK, Korea, US (Definitions 3 and 5), the prohibition is on displaying the
Outputs in those places — not on being located in them. On the face of the text there is no
carve-out for "hosted globally but not targeted there", and a YouTube upload is displayable in
all four.
So the reading I would not want you to miss is the less comfortable one: it is not obvious that
running locally inside the territory is enough if the outputs are published somewhere with
global reach. Whether MiniMax reads V.4 that way — and whether they intend actual viewing rather
than mere availability — is exactly what only they can say, which is why @ryanlee-dev is the
right person for this and not me.
Not a lawyer, not legal advice; quoting the text so you have the clause in front of you when you
ask.