{
  "id": 6230816,
  "title": "I changed my license to EUPL",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/i-changed-my-license-to-eupl",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-08T04:17:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Lobsters",
    "slug": "lobsters",
    "url": "https://bergie.iki.fi/blog/eupl/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the past 28 years, the author has published software using three different licensing eras. Midgard, a web framework, was initially released under LGPLv2, a simpler time with limited free software licenses available. As the author began using JavaScript around 2011, they switched to the MIT license, a permissive option favored by the NPM package ecosystem. After a hiatus following the closure of Flowhub, the author decided to change their default license to EUPL-1.2, an OSI-approved free software license created by the European Union. This move represents a significant shift from the strong copyleft approach used in previous licenses.\n\nThe EUPL is designed to address the \"SaaS loophole\" by requiring reciprocal licensing, regardless of the software's distribution method. Over time, the author realized that the open source camp, which preferred permissive licenses, had underestimated the impact of their efforts. Instead of fostering user and developer growth, it made it easier for large corporations to build software more cheaply and for billionaires to accumulate even greater wealth.\n\nThe author believes that it is time to abandon permissive licenses in favor of stronger, more equitable options. EUPL-1.2 offers legal validity in 23 languages, making it a practical choice in a global software landscape. Some of the author's recent projects published under EUPL include the rewrite of the NoFlo Development Environment, while the original NoFlo remains MIT-licensed due to its existing nature with numerous third-party contributions.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Author switched EUPL license for new projects, abandoning previous permissive licenses",
    "EUPL-1.2 offers legal validity in 23 languages for global software distribution",
    "Recent projects under EUPL include NoFlo Development Environment rewrite"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The author's switch to EUPL-1.2 signals a rejection of permissive licenses, which they believe have enabled large corporations to exploit open-source software for profit, and a quest for more equitable licensing terms.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}