Eclipse Public License
The Eclipse Public License (EPL) is a free and open source software license most notably used for the Eclipse IDE and other projects by the Eclipse Foundation. It replaces the Common Public License (CPL) and removes certain terms relating to litigations related to patents.
| Author | Eclipse Foundation |
|---|---|
| Latest version | 2.0 |
| Published | 24 August 2017 |
| SPDX identifier | EPL-2.0 EPL-1.0 |
| Debian FSG compatible | Yes |
| FSF approved | Yes |
| OSI approved | Yes |
| GPL compatible | Optionally but not by default |
| Copyleft | Limited |
| Linking from code with a different licence | Yes |
| Website | eclipse |
The Eclipse Public License is designed to be a business-friendly free software license, and features weaker copyleft provisions than licenses such as the GNU General Public License (GPL). The receiver of EPL-licensed programs can use, modify, copy and distribute the work and modified versions, in some cases being obligated to release their own changes.
The EPL is listed as a free software license by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI).
Discussion of a new version of the EPL began in May 2013. Version 2.0 was announced on 24 August 2017.
On January 20, 2021, the license steward for the license was changed from Eclipse.org Foundation, Inc. (Delaware, USA) to Eclipse Foundation AISBL (Brussels, Belgium).