Nextcloud and OnlyOffice Clash Over Euro-Office Fork in AGPL Dispute

A growing conflict between Nextcloud and OnlyOffice is drawing attention across the open-source community, as both sides dispute the legal and philosophical boundaries of the AGPL license. At the center is “Euro-Office,” a fork of OnlyOffice positioned as an alternative to Microsoft Office.

What Sparked the Conflict

The dispute began after Euro-Office removed OnlyOffice branding and logos from its fork. OnlyOffice claims this move violates the GNU Affero General Public License v3 (AGPLv3), arguing that attribution requirements extend beyond just code.

In response, OnlyOffice terminated its eight-year partnership with Nextcloud, signaling a major breakdown in collaboration.

Nextcloud’s Legal Position

Nextcloud argues that forcing logo usage conflicts with open-source principles. The company maintains that logos fall under trademark law, not copyright, and should not be enforced through a software license.

It also relies on the AGPLv3 “self-cleaning” clause, which allows removal of additional restrictions that go beyond the license itself. This interpretation aligns with guidance from the Free Software Foundation and legal opinions from Bradley M. Kühn, one of the authors behind AGPL.

OnlyOffice Pushes Back

OnlyOffice rejects this interpretation, stating that Free Software Foundation guidance does not carry legal authority. The company insists that only the original 2007 AGPL text should apply.

It further argues that “author attribution” remains undefined within the license, giving room for its branding requirements. According to OnlyOffice, these rules existed long before recent reinterpretations of AGPL surfaced.

Proposed Resolution and Broader Impact

OnlyOffice has shifted its demands away from logos and toward clearer attribution. It proposes that Euro-Office include an “About” page identifying OnlyOffice as the original developer, retain origin notices in the source code, and publicly label the project as a derivative work.

The outcome remains uncertain, but the case could influence how future open-source projects handle branding, attribution, and licensing boundaries. At its core, the dispute highlights a deeper tension between open-source ideals and commercial interests.

Meanwhile, Microsoft continues to evolve its own productivity suite, recently adding sensitivity labels to Office web apps and integrating new capabilities following its acquisition of Fintool.

Via Neowin