Third Party Developer Blog

Updates to the Developer License Agreement - 2017-10

Hello developers

CCP is making a number of changes to the developer agreement. The primary purpose of these changes is to allow for persons other than the original developer to enter into the agreement and get access to the resources for EVE Online made available by CCP. An example of such a user might be someone that has downloaded an application written by someone else. As the author of the application can't include a client ID and secret in the application (as they become public), the user will need to provide their own. Since the end user is not the original author of the application, they were not allowed to sign the agreement.

The full updated Developer License Agreement can be found here. If you just want to see the changes, they're detailed below. Additions are in bold, removed text is marked with a strikethrough

BACKGROUND STATEMENT
CCP is the owner of the massively multiplayer online game EVE Online® ("EVE"). As a "Developer", you desire to make, deploy and/or administer one or more software applications to be used in connection with EVE.

This is a change to maintain continuity with the change to the definition of Application below

1.2
"Application" means any application software designed, deployed or administered by Developer to provide functionality for or in conjunction with EVE via CRESTESI or any other CCP tool, whether the software is installed on an individual computer (e.g., a desktop or laptop), a mobile device (e.g., a smart phone or tablet), or offered as a service remotely (e.g., accessed via a web site or direct connection).

This is a fairly significant change. Previously you were only able to enter into the Developer License Agreement if you were the original author of the application you were using with CCP Tools. With this change, anyone that uses an application is now able to sign the agreement. This includes people both running applications on their own computers, as well as people who are deploying their own instances of applications for use by their corporation, alliance or other group.

We have also updated references to CREST to ESI throughout the license agreement, as ESI will be the primary means of accessing information about the state of the game going forward.

Section 1.6 (the definition of CREST) has been removed. This was not needed anymore with the removal of references to CREST, and a new definition for ESI has been added as section 1.8.

1.7
"Derivative Works" means any artistic or literary creation derived from EVE, the CCP Marks, the Licensed Materials, or any part thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, CCP acknowledges that it does not own any each Application is owned by the Developer, and no Application shall not be considered a derivative work within the meaning of this paragraph.

Previously this stated that CCP acknowledged that the application was owned by the Developer and would not be considered a derivative work. As we have changed the agreement to now allow persons other than the original developer to sign the agreement, this has been changed to CCP not making any claims about the ownership of the application.

2.8
Subject to CCP's compliance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, to the extent Developer designed the Application, Developer grants CCP a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, non-transferable license and right during the Term to use and display the Application and view any publicly available materials associated therewith (e.g., documentation). CCP's rights granted under this Section shall be limited to actions that: (1) help ensure the technical effectiveness and integration of the Application with EVE or the Licensed Materials, (b) help troubleshoot the Application, EVE, or the Licensed Materials, (3) help ensure Developer's ongoing compliance with this Agreement, or (4) exercise CCP's right to market to the Application in accordance with Section 3.

This section has been changed to ensure that someone using an application created by someone else isn’t required to give over license they aren’t able to grant.

7.6
CCP recognizes that it is not the owner Developer is the exclusive of the Applications(s), and CCP will not contest Developer’s ownership of the Application(s). In addition, CCP will not register or attempt to register any intellectual property right or other ownership right in the Application(s) (except to the extent necessary to protect CCP's ownership of EVE, the CCP Marks, and the Licensed Materials).

Just like section 1.7, this change is due the agreement allowing someone other than the original designer of the application to sign the agreement, while keeping the intention of CCP not making any claims to own the application

9.3
Developer represents and warrants that each Application is Developer’s own original work, or an original work of the organization of which Developer is an authorized representative, and that such (a) has been created by a party who has entered into the Developer License Agreement with CCP and (b) does not violate the copyright or other any intellectual property rights of any third party.

This is the main change. There is no longer a requirement that the application must be the original work of the developer, meaning that other people can now sign the agreement to get access to things like the SSO or ESI endpoints requiring authorization. However, to ensure that there are no edge cases where someone that didn’t sign the agreement wrote the application, we require that any applications used were created by someone that is party to the agreement. For this reason, we now recommend that application creators add a line somewhere in their application or their website stating that they have signed the agreement, so that users have confidence that they can use your application. An example line that would work would be "This application has been created under the EVE Developer License Agreement."

This isn’t really a new restriction, as previously you could only sign the agreement if you were the original author of the application, which would mean you would have the authority to assign rights and licenses to CCP as required, as well as ensure your application conformed to any requirements laid out in the agreement.

In addition to these changes, there are two sections (10.3 and 5.5) where we have corrected incorrectly numbered sections. There are no changes to the text of these sections or the meaning of them.

With these changes, we hope to see more people using both the SSO and ESI with confidence that they won't have any issues from CCP. If you have any further questions, please come find us in the #devfleet channel on the Tweetfleet Slack.

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