Eclipse Public License#Version 2.0

{{Update|section|inaccurate=yes|date=December 2015}}

The EPL 1.0 is not compatible with the GPL, and a work created by combining a work licensed under the GPL with a work licensed under the EPL cannot be lawfully distributed. The GPL requires that "[any distributed work] that ... contains or is derived from the [GPL-licensed] Program ... be licensed as a whole ... under the terms of [the GPL]", and that the distributor not "impose any further restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted". The EPL, however, requires that anyone distributing the work grant every recipient a license to any patents that they might hold that cover the modifications they have made. Because this is a "further restriction" on the recipients, distribution of such a combined work does not satisfy the GPL.{{cite web | url = https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/license-list.html#EPL | title = Various Licenses and Comments about Them | access-date = 2016-06-03 }}

The EPL, in addition, does not contain a patent retaliation clause.

According to article 1(b) of the EPL, additions to the original work may be licensed independently, including under a proprietary license, provided such additions are "separate modules of software" and do not constitute a derivative work.{{cite web| url = http://www.eclipse.org/legal/eplfaq.php| title = Eclipse Public License (EPL) Frequently Asked Questions| access-date = 2009-12-18 }} Changes and additions which do constitute a derivative work must be licensed under the same terms and conditions of the EPL, which includes the requirement to make source code available.

Linking to code (for example to a library) licensed under EPL automatically does not mean that your program is a derivative work. Eclipse Foundation interprets the term "derivative work" in a way that is consistent with the definition in the U.S. Copyright Act, as applicable to computer software.{{Cite web|url=https://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0/faq.php#h.dywt3xhx2jg|title=EPL-2.0 FAQ {{!}} The Eclipse Foundation|last=Beaton|first=Wayne|website=www.eclipse.org|language=en|access-date=2019-06-25}}

If a new version of the EPL is published the user/contributor can choose to distribute the software under the version with which he or she received it or upgrade to the new version.

The EPL was based on the Common Public License (CPL),{{ cite web |url=http://www.eclipse.org/legal/CPL2EPLTransitionPlan.pdf |title=CPL to EPL Transition Plan |date=2006-09-12 }} but there are some differences between the two licenses:

• The Eclipse Foundation replaces IBM as the Agreement Steward in the EPL
• The EPL patent clause is revised by deleting the sentence from section 7 of the CPL

The Eclipse Foundation sought permission from contributors to re-licence their CPL code under the EPL.{{cite web | url=http://www.eclipse.org/legal/cpl2epl/cpl2eplfaq.php | title=CPL To EPL Transition Plan Frequently Asked Questions | access-date=21 December 2015}}

Version{{nbsp}}2.0 of the Eclipse Public License (SPDX code {{mono|EPL-2.0}}) was announced on 24{{nbsp}}August 2017.

{{cite web

| last1 = Milinkovich | first1 = Mike

| title = Eclipse Public License version{{nbsp}}2.0 approved by OSI and Eclipse Foundation Board of Directors

| date = 24 August 2017

| work = Eclipse Foundation

| location = Ottawa, Canada

| url = https://www.eclipse.org/org/press-release/20170829eplv2.php

| quote=The new EPL v2 will now optionally allow EPL licensed projects to be compatible with the GPL.{{nbsp}}... The new EPL v2 will allow initial contributors to new projects to specify if they want their EPL v2 licensed project to be GPL compatible.

| access-date = 2017-10-19

}}

The Eclipse Foundation maintains an FAQ.

{{cite web

| last1 = Beaton | first1 = Wayne

| title = Eclipse Public License{{nbsp}}2.0 FAQ

| work = Eclipse Foundation

| location = Ottawa, Canada

| url = https://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/epl-2.0/faq.php

| access-date = 2017-10-20

}}

The FSF has analyzed the license in relation to GPL license compatibility and added it to their official list.

{{cite web

| last1 = Robertson | first1 = Donald

| title = Eclipse Public License version{{nbsp}}2.0 added to license list

| date = 17 October 2017

| work = Free Software Foundation

| url = http://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/eclipse-public-license-version-2-0-added-to-license-list-1

| access-date = 2017-10-20

}}

The bare license notice is available in several formats, including plain text.

{{cite book

| title = Eclipse Public License — v{{nbsp}}2.0

| date = 2017

| publisher = Eclipse Foundation

| location = Ottawa, Canada

| format = TXT

| url = https://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/epl-2.0/EPL-2.0.txt

| access-date = 2017-10-20

}}

In terms of GPL compatibility, the new license allows the initial contributor to a new project to opt in to a secondary license that provides explicit compatibility with the GNU General Public License version 2.0, or any later version. If this optional designation is absent, then the Eclipse license remains source incompatible with the GPL (any version).

Other changes include:

• the license now applies to "files" not "modules"
• the choice of law provision has been removed
• the new license is suitable for scripting languages, including JavaScript

The Eclipse Foundation advises that version{{nbsp}}1.0 is deprecated and that projects should migrate to version{{nbsp}}2.0. Relicensing is a straightforward matter and does not require the consent of all contributors, past and present. Rather, the version{{nbsp}}1.0 license allows a project (preferably after forming a consensus) to adopt any new version by simply updating the relevant file headers and license notices.{{rp|§3}}

In addition to the Eclipse Foundation, the EPL is used in some other projects, especially those running on the Java virtual machine.

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• AT&T KornShell{{cite web |url=http://www2.research.att.com/~astopen/download/gen/ast-open.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402135842/http://www2.research.att.com/~astopen/download/gen/ast-open.html |archive-date=2 April 2015 |title=ast-open package}}
• Clojure (and ClojureScript)
• Graphviz
• Jikes RVM
• JUnit{{Cite web|url=https://github.com/junit-team/junit5|title=JUnit 5|website=GitHub |date=22 October 2021}}
• Mondrian
• OpenDaylight Project{{cite web |url=http://www.opendaylight.org/resources/faq#5 |title= FAQ | OpenDaylight|website=www.opendaylight.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429061958/http://www.opendaylight.org/resources/faq |archive-date=2014-04-29}}
• UWIN

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• [https://eclipse.org/omr Eclipse OMR]
• Eclipse OpenJ9
• Jetty
• JRuby{{cite web | url = https://github.com/jruby/jruby/blob/master/COPYING | title = jruby/COPYING at master - jruby/jruby | access-date = 2014-02-11 | date = 2014-01-01 | publisher = GitHub}}

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{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}

• Software using the Eclipse Public License (category)

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html The Eclipse Public License, version 1.0]
• [http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v20.html The Eclipse Public License, version 2.0]
• [http://www.eclipse.org/legal/eplfaq.php Eclipse Public License FAQ]
• [http://opensource.org/licenses/EPL-1.0 EPL v1.0 on OSI]
• [http://opensource.org/licenses/EPL-2.0 EPL v2.0 on OSI]

{{Eclipse Foundation}}

{{FOSS}}

Category:Free and open-source software licenses

Category:Copyleft software licenses