European Union Public Licence
Encyclopedia
The European Union Public Licence (EUPL) is a software licence that has been created and approved by the European Commission
. It is a free software licence
.
Its first version 1.0 was approved on 9 January 2007.
Its latest version is version 1.1, which was approved by the European Commission
on 9 January 2009. The licence is available in 22 official languages of the European Union. All linguistic versions have the same validity. The EUPL v 1.1 is OSI certified as from March 2009.
This licence was originally intended to be used for the distribution of software developed in the framework of the IDABC programme, although (given its generic scope) it is also suitable for use by any software developer. Its main goal is its focusing on being consistent with the copyright law in the 27 Member States of the European Union, while retaining compatibility with popular open-source software licences such as the GNU General Public License
. The first IDABC software packages mentioned are CIRCA groupware, IPM
and the eLink G2G
, G2C, G2B
specification software.
Since the launching (in October 2008) of the European Open Source Observatory and Repository (OSOR) , a number of other software, mainly produced by European administrations, are licensed under the EUPL.
a growing problem, the European Union justifies its licence as the first open source licence to be released by an international governing body. The European Union also wishes to dispel legal uncertainties, real or perceived, in respect of other open-source licences, such as the GNU General Public License, by creating a software licence which takes due account of European Union Law. A third goal of this licence is to create an open-source licence available into 22 official languages of the European Union, and is sure to conform to the existing copyright laws of each of the 27 Member States of the European Union. Lastly, to dispel fears of licence proliferation, the licence was developed with other open-source licences in mind and specifically authorizes covered works to be re-released under the following licences, when combined with their covered code:
On the other hand, many OSI-approved licenses are compatible with the EUPL: OSOR publish a general compatibility matrix between all OSI-approved licenses and the EUPL
An overview of the EUPL license and on what makes it different has been published in OSS-Watch
New provisions cover the Application service provider
loophole of software distribution: Distribution and/or Communication (of software) includes providing on-line "access to its essential functionalities".
A possible issue that could use further thought is how the licence affects dynamic linking. This currently depends on national law. According to studies done prior to the approval of the EUPL, this is intentional: each case is left to appreciation..
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
. It is a free software licence
Free software licence
A free software licence is a software licence which grants recipients rights to modify and redistribute the software, which would otherwise be prohibited by copyright law. A free software licence grants, to the recipients, freedoms in the form of permissions to modify or distribute copyrighted work...
.
Its first version 1.0 was approved on 9 January 2007.
Its latest version is version 1.1, which was approved by the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
on 9 January 2009. The licence is available in 22 official languages of the European Union. All linguistic versions have the same validity. The EUPL v 1.1 is OSI certified as from March 2009.
This licence was originally intended to be used for the distribution of software developed in the framework of the IDABC programme, although (given its generic scope) it is also suitable for use by any software developer. Its main goal is its focusing on being consistent with the copyright law in the 27 Member States of the European Union, while retaining compatibility with popular open-source software licences such as the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
. The first IDABC software packages mentioned are CIRCA groupware, IPM
IPM (software)
The Interactive Policy Making, or IPM, is an online opinion poll management system launched in 2001, which is used to gather the opinion of European Union citizens and entreprises regarding policy development The software is part of the Interactive Policy Making Initiative and is made of various...
and the eLink G2G
Government-to-government
Government-to-Government is the online non-commercial interaction between Government organisations, departments, and authorities and other Government organisations, departments, and authorities...
, G2C, G2B
Government-to-business
Government-to-Business is the online non-commercial interaction between local and central government and the commercial business sector, rather than private individuals , with the purpose of providing businesses information and advice on e-business 'best practices'.-External links:*, United...
specification software.
Since the launching (in October 2008) of the European Open Source Observatory and Repository (OSOR) , a number of other software, mainly produced by European administrations, are licensed under the EUPL.
Comparison to other open source/free software licences
With licence proliferationLicense proliferation
License proliferation refers to the problems created when additional software licenses are written for software packages. License proliferation affects the free software community. Often when a software developer would like to merge portions of different software programs they are unable to do so...
a growing problem, the European Union justifies its licence as the first open source licence to be released by an international governing body. The European Union also wishes to dispel legal uncertainties, real or perceived, in respect of other open-source licences, such as the GNU General Public License, by creating a software licence which takes due account of European Union Law. A third goal of this licence is to create an open-source licence available into 22 official languages of the European Union, and is sure to conform to the existing copyright laws of each of the 27 Member States of the European Union. Lastly, to dispel fears of licence proliferation, the licence was developed with other open-source licences in mind and specifically authorizes covered works to be re-released under the following licences, when combined with their covered code:
- GNU General Public LicenseGNU General Public LicenseThe GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
(GPL) v. 2 - Open Software LicenseOpen Software LicenseThe Open Software License is a software license created by Lawrence Rosen. The Open Source Initiative has certified it as an open source license, but the Debian project judged version 1.1 to be incompatible with the DFSG...
(OSL) v. 2.1, v. 3.0 - Common Public LicenseCommon Public LicenseIn computing, the CPL is a free software / open-source software license published by IBM. The Free Software Foundation and Open Source Initiative have approved the license terms of the CPL....
v. 1.0 - Eclipse Public LicenseEclipse Public LicenseThe Eclipse Public License is an open source software license used by the Eclipse Foundation for its software. It replaces the Common Public License and removes certain terms relating to litigations related to patents....
v. 1.0 - CeCILLCeCILLCeCILL is a free software license adapted to both international and French legal matters, in the spirit of and retaining compatibility with the GNU General Public License....
v. 2.0
On the other hand, many OSI-approved licenses are compatible with the EUPL: OSOR publish a general compatibility matrix between all OSI-approved licenses and the EUPL
An overview of the EUPL license and on what makes it different has been published in OSS-Watch
Possible upgrade
According to the EUPL v.1.1, the European Commission may publish other linguistic versions and/or new versions of the EUPL, so far this is required and reasonable, without reducing the scope of the rights granted by the Licence. Future upgrades will not be applicable automatically when software was expressly released "under the EUPL v.1.1 only".New provisions cover the Application service provider
Application service provider
An application service provider is a business that provides computer-based services to customers over a network. Software offered using an ASP model is also sometimes called On-demand software or software as a service ....
loophole of software distribution: Distribution and/or Communication (of software) includes providing on-line "access to its essential functionalities".
A possible issue that could use further thought is how the licence affects dynamic linking. This currently depends on national law. According to studies done prior to the approval of the EUPL, this is intentional: each case is left to appreciation..
Member States policies
As from 2010, EU Member States adopt or revise policies aimed to encourage - when appropriate - the open source distribution of public sector applications. The EUPL is formally mentioned in some of these policies:See also
- OSOR.euOSOR.euThe Open Source Observatory and Repository is a website launched by the European Commission under the IDABC programme, to support the distribution and reuse of software developed by or for public sector administrations across Europe, connecting EU services and Member States.-Mission statement:The...
The EU Open Source Observatory and Repository (www.OSOR.eu) includes blogs on EUPL - Comparison of free software licences
External links
- European Union Public Licence - EUPL v.1.1 at IDABC
- European Union Public Licence (EUPL v.1.0) at IDABC
- Full English text of the licence (PDF)
- Article of professor Severine Dusollier with a particular reference to the EUPL (PDF)
- "Speech of Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission", youtubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video - "The European Union can show off with its own, free, open source license", LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
magazine PDF - The EU Open Source Observatory and Repository, OSOR.euOSOR.euThe Open Source Observatory and Repository is a website launched by the European Commission under the IDABC programme, to support the distribution and reuse of software developed by or for public sector administrations across Europe, connecting EU services and Member States.-Mission statement:The...
- Italian web site dedicated to the EUPL
- The analysis of EUPL compatible licenses
- EUPL - An overview (by Rowan Wilson)