Open AccessThe Reference to ‘A Work or Software’ as the Factor Determining the Scope of the European Union Public Licence (EUPL) v. 1.2
Author(s) -
Krzysztof Żok
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
masaryk university journal of law and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1802-5951
pISSN - 1802-5943
DOI - 10.5817/mujlt2021-2-2
Subject(s) - scope (computer science) , work (physics) , software , european union , commission , intellectual property , law , property (philosophy) , european commission , computer science , business , political science , engineering , international trade , mechanical engineering , philosophy , epistemology , programming language
Free and open source software (FOSS) has undoubtedly become an important element of intellectual property law. It is therefore not surprising that the European Commission developed its own non-proprietary licence, i.e. the European Union Public Licence (EUPL). The article examines the reference to ‘a work of software’ to determine the scope of the licence. For this purpose, the paper discusses the reasons for the creation of the EUPL, the relationship between a work and software as well as the structure of a computer program. The following considerations also include the compatible licences listed in the EUPL Appendix. The article concludes that the reference to a work or software is not accidental because it removes serious doubts arising from the concept of a computer program. Thus, this legal solution may facilitate the wider adoption of the licence.