Adds GPL v3 to compatibility list

The European Commission has updated the European Union Public Licence (EUPL). Version 1.2 has a wider coverage, making it easier to use the licence to publish data, documents, technical specifications and standards, as well as software source code. In addition, the new licence is compatible with a wider range of other free and open source software licences, including the GNU Public Licence v3.

The EUPL v1.2 is available in 23 languages, one more than the first version of the EUPL, published in 2007. The EC has now added a Croatian version; Croatia joined the EU in 2013.

EUPL version 1.2 was published in the European Union’s Official Journal on 19 May (OJ 19/05/2017 L128 p. 59–64 ), the day after the licence was officially approved by the Commission.

“The new version gives users more room to add provisions, as long as these do not contradict the licence itself”, says Patrice-Emmanuel Schmitz, a Brussels-based lawyer closely involved in drafting the EUPL. Examples include adding a reference to a specific law that is to be applied, or choosing a court for arbitration.

“EUPL version 1.2 applies to all software solutions shared ‘under the EUPL’ or ‘under the EUPL v1.1 or later’”, says Schmitz. “Other projects, referring explicitly to EUPL version 1.1, are invited to check the advantages of updating the licence.”

The EUPL was first updated in in January 2009. Later that year, the licence was certified as an open source licence by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) an organisation promoting open source software.

More information:

EUPL v1.2 in the Official Journal of the European Union

EUPL community on Joinup