OSI approves license from the EU-Commission

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) approved a license from the European Commission which the administration developed for its own software, the European Union Public License (EUPL) (cmp also the info resources of OSOR.eu and Wikipedia). It was written to be legally enforcable in all member states of the Union with its member states and does not want to score on political grounds. Unlike other licenses it is available in several languages. The draft and review team carefully investigated existing licenses. Still it aims to be compatible with existing software licenses. It was fascinating to get involved in the EUPL process because it demonstrated how “legal interoperability” is a challenge entirely different from “legal harmonisation” and what public authorities can contribute to transnational legal certainty without any requirements to change the national laws. The EU-Commission IDABC did an excellent job here and I hope a capable transnational authority will start the same effort for RAND and RF patent licensing/indemnification models. Congratulations for Karel de Vriendt, the approval of the EUPL by the OSI will facilitate the application of the license for the re-use of egovernment software. The EUPL is also increasingly a vital option for European businesses looking for a legally secure way to license their software to their customers under its terms.

Advertisement

Read Full Post »