---
title: "Do DeepSeek model licenses differ between official weights and distilled versions?"  
description: "Do DeepSeek model licenses differ between official weights and distilled versions?"  
author: "Mikko Lehtonen"  
published: 2026-10-23  
updated: 2026-10-23  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/162901/do-deepseek-model-licenses-differ-between-official-weights-and-distilled-versions  
category: "Open-Weight Models"  
tags: ["DeepSeek", "Open-weight models", "AI licensing"]  
reading_time: 1 minute  

---

# Do DeepSeek model licenses differ between official weights and distilled versions?

I’m comparing DeepSeek models for a product that might be used commercially, and I’m not sure whether the licensing terms are consistent across the model family. Do the terms for official model weights also cover distilled versions, or does each release need to be checked separately?

Which documents should I verify before choosing a model for deployment: the model card, the repository license, or both?


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Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/162901/do-deepseek-model-licenses-differ-between-official-weights-and-distilled-versions

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