Apache 2.0 section 3 gives you a patent license from every contributor, covering patent claims their contributions necessarily infringe. If you start patent litigation claiming the Work infringes a patent, the patent licenses you received for that Work end on the date you file. This is general information, not legal advice.
Definition
Section 3 of the Apache License 2.0 is titled "Grant of Patent License". Each Contributor grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non exclusive, no charge, royalty free, irrevocable (except as stated in the section) patent license to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell, import and otherwise transfer the Work. The license applies to patent claims licensable by that contributor that are necessarily infringed by their contribution alone, or by combining it with the Work to which it was submitted.
The termination trigger
The same section says: if you institute patent litigation against any entity, including a cross claim or counterclaim, alleging that the Work or a Contribution incorporated within the Work constitutes direct or contributory patent infringement, then any patent licenses granted to you under the license for that Work terminate as of the date the litigation is filed.
Read the structure closely:
| Element | What the text says |
|---|---|
| Who loses the license | The party who files |
| What triggers it | Litigation alleging the Work or a Contribution infringes a patent |
| Includes counterclaims | Yes, cross claims and counterclaims are named |
| What is lost | Patent licenses for that Work under the license |
| When | The date the litigation is filed |
What it does not do
The termination covers the patent licenses under Apache 2.0 for that Work. It does not say you lose your copyright license. The text also does not say the clause stops you from suing over unrelated patents. The trigger is an allegation that the Work or a Contribution infringes.
Why engineering and legal both care
If you build a product on an Apache 2.0 library and your company later has a patent dispute with another party, the answer to "did we allege infringement by this library?" can matter. Large companies often have patent portfolios, and a counterclaim in a dispute could reach software they use under this license.
A practical routine
- Keep an inventory of Apache 2.0 components, with versions.
- Share the clause summary with your legal team once, not at crisis time.
- When legal considers patent action, ask whether any claim touches a component you use under Apache 2.0.
- Keep the license text and NOTICE files with the shipped product.
- Record the answer, so later audits can see the question was asked.
Try it yourself
Open the inventory demo and look at how components are listed with versions and licenses. A component inventory is what lets your legal team answer "which of our dependencies use this license?" in minutes.
Click through it at your own pace, or open it full screen.
Safeguard's SBOM and dependency scanning produce that inventory, and its policies and gates can enforce license decisions in pull requests. A free scan is available at gold.safeguard.sh/scan.
Quick check
Does Apache 2.0 include a patent license?
Yes. Section 3 grants a patent license from each contributor, limited to claims their contributions necessarily infringe.
When does the patent license end for me?
If you file patent litigation, including a counterclaim, alleging the Work or a Contribution infringes a patent, the patent licenses for that Work end on the filing date.
Does the clause end my copyright license too?
The section addresses patent licenses. It does not say the copyright license ends.
Sources
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
