A software package introduced last week as a European alternative to Microsoft Office is now facing allegations of illegal code use. The product, named Euro-Office, was unveiled on Monday by a small Norwegian tech firm. Within days, it received a formal complaint accusing the developers of incorporating copyrighted material without permission.
The complaint was filed on Wednesday with the Norwegian Data Protection Authority. It alleges that parts of Euro-Office’s source code closely resemble proprietary code from Microsoft Office. The complainant, a software developer based in Germany, provided a technical comparison showing similarities in function and structure. Euro-Office’s team has not responded publicly to the allegations.
Euro-Office was promoted as a privacy-focused office suite designed for public sector use across Europe. It supports document editing, spreadsheets, and presentations, and is offered under an open-source license. The project received initial funding from a European Union grant aimed at reducing reliance on non-European software. Its launch was covered in several Norwegian tech media outlets.
The Norwegian Data Protection Authority has opened an investigation. A spokesperson confirmed receipt of the complaint and said the case is being reviewed under national and EU copyright regulations. If found in violation, Euro-Office could face fines or be required to halt distribution.
The situation highlights growing tensions between open-source projects and proprietary software companies in Europe. Similar disputes have emerged in recent years over code reuse in cloud services and productivity tools.
Source: digi.no