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License Class: Common Public Licenses (CPL); Eclipse Public Licenses (EPL): IBM Public Licenses (IPL)

The Common Public License (CPL), developed by IBM, is a 'copyleft' license. Copyleft licenses - of which the General Public License (GPL) is the most commonly used - require any work originating in the licensed code to be made available under the same provisions. The CPL differs from the GPL in a few ways. One significant way is the inclusion of an anti-patent code clause that protects software from patented code contributions. Some additional facts regarding the license include:

• The Open Source Initiative (OSI) has approved this license as an Open Source license. Open Source approved licenses comply with the OSI criteria. Such criteria include provisions supporting both the free redistribution of aggregate and derived products, and the requirement that source code be made available with the distributions of aggregate and derivative products.
• The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has classified this license as a Free Software license. Free Software licenses meet the FSF's criteria for supporting the user's freedom to run, study,redistribute and improve the program.
• This license is a copyleft license. Copyleft licenses - of which the General Public License (GPL) is the most commonly used - require any work originating in the licensed code to be made available under the same provisions.

The Eclipse Public License (EPL), developed by the Eclipse Foundation for its software and based on the Common Public License (CPL), is intended as a business friendly license. While the EPL is a 'copyleft' license, it has less restrictive provisions than classic copyleft licenses.  Copyleft licenses - of which the GPL is the most commonly used - require any work originating in the licensed code to be made available under the same provisions. Some additional facts regarding the license include:

• The Open Source Initiative (OSI) has approved this license as an Open Source license. Open Source approved licenses comply with the OSI criteria. Such criteria include provisions supporting both the free redistribution of aggregate and derived products, and the requirement that source code be made available with the distributions of aggregate and derivative products.
• The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has classified this license as a Free Software license. Free Software licenses meet the FSF's criteria for supporting the user's freedom to run, study,redistribute and improve the program.
• Copyleft licenses - of which the GPL is the most commonly used - require any work originating in the licensed code to be made available under the same provisions.

The IBM Public License (IPL) terminates the license upon patent disputes, and requires commercial distributors to indemnify 'upstream' originators for legal costs due to lawsuits.

Some additional facts regarding the license include:

• The Open Source Initiative (OSI) has approved this license as an Open Source license. Open Source approved licenses comply with the OSI criteria. Such criteria include provisions supporting both the free redistribution of aggregate and derived products, and the requirement that source code be made available with the distributions of aggregate and derivative products.
• The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has classified this license as a Free Software license. Free Software licenses meet the FSF's criteria for supporting the user's freedom to run, study,redistribute and improve the program.