The Eclipse Dataspace Working Group (EDWG) advances two open protocols toward global ISO/IEC standardisation

The Eclipse Dataspace Protocol and Eclipse Dataspace Decentralised Claims Protocol facilitate data sharing, trust, and identity verification for dataspaces worldwide

BRUSSELS, Dec. 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Eclipse Foundation, one of the world’s largest open source software foundations, together with the Eclipse Dataspace Working Group (EDWG), today announced the release of two key protocol specifications that will be submitted for international standardisation through the ISO/IEC JTC1 Publicly Available Specification (PAS) process.

These new protocols mark a significant step forward in enabling open, interoperable, and sovereign dataspaces that allow organisations, industries, and nations to share data securely while maintaining control of their information.

The two specifications are:

Eclipse Dataspace Protocol, which defines interoperable data sharing between entities based on modern web technologies and governed by usage control. Access the released version here.
Eclipse Dataspace Decentralised Claims Protocol, which defines an overlay protocol for trust and credential verification. It allows for multiple credential issuers and eliminates the need for third-party verification. Access the released version here.

“Open source is at the heart of digital sovereignty,” said Mike Milinkovich, executive director of the Eclipse Foundation. “By aligning open standards with community-driven innovation, we give organisations the ability to retain control over their data and infrastructure. These new protocols, and their path toward international standardisation, demonstrate how open collaboration strengthens trust and interoperability across the global data economy.”

Advancing digital sovereignty through open standards
Dataspaces are increasingly recognized as a cornerstone of digital sovereignty, helping nations, industries and organisations ensure that data remains under the control of its rightful owners. This is essential for protecting privacy, fostering fair competition, and maintaining national and regional autonomy. Digital sovereignty through dataspaces also enables the creation of frameworks that promote trusted, transparent, and equitable data-sharing practices.

The two new protocols are the foundation of an open dataspace protocol stack that will enable interoperability between sovereign dataspaces and ensure successful data sharing. The Eclipse Dataspace protocol serves as the base layer for technical interoperability across dataspace catalogues, contracts, and data planes, while the Decentralized Claims protocol adds decentralised trust, credential verification, and cross-ecosystem interoperability.

Together, these protocols enable a unified stack of open standards for secure, sovereign data sharing. In parallel, the EDWG is developing additional specifications to support Dataspace Trust frameworks that will further expand these capabilities in 2026.

Bridging open source innovation and global standards

As Europe’s largest open source organisation with a global community, the Eclipse Foundation is well positioned to support digital sovereignty by connecting European priorities with international open source and standardisation efforts. Its neutral governance model, proven legal framework, and extensive network of industry and academic partners, together with its designation as an ISO/IEC JTC 1 PAS Submitter, enable the Foundation to link open source innovation with formal global standardisation.

Moreover, the Eclipse Foundation is deeply involved in the activities of the technical committee of the global standards organization ISO/IEC JTC1 SC38 on “Cloud Computing and Distributed Platforms.” Specifically, the Eclipse Foundation is working closely with this organisation within WG6 (“Data, interoperability and portability”), where EDWG activities are being translated into various standardisation initiatives to complement the aforementioned PAS transposition of protocols. This includes active collaboration on the current Draft International Standard ISO/IEC 20151 (“Dataspace concepts and characteristics”), which incorporates the broader vision for a Dataspace interoperability protocol stack that complements and supports EDWG protocols.

“The collaboration between the open source community and global standardisation organisations is crutial. We are pleased to see this partnership crystalising through ISO/IEC JTC1 SC38 activities, and we welcome the PAS transposition of EDWG standards as an important step into the right direction,” says Anish Karmarkar, ISO/IEC SC38 chair.

The Eclipse Foundation also serves as a liaison with CEN/CENELEC JTC25 (Data management, Dataspaces, Cloud and Edge) and contributes to the European Commission’s efforts to establish harmonised standards supporting the EU Data Act and related digital policies. These collaborations ensure that open source technologies remain central to building trusted, transparent, and interoperable data ecosystems across Europe and beyond.

“The Eclipse Dataspace Working Group’s progress shows how open collaboration can produce technologies that are both practical and globally relevant,” said Javier Valiño, Program Manager for Dataspaces at the Eclipse Foundation. “We are helping organisations worldwide build trustworthy dataspaces and advance secure, sovereign data sharing across industries and borders.”

About the Eclipse Dataspace Working Group
The Eclipse Dataspace Working Group (EDWG) provides an open, collaborative forum for individuals and organisations to develop the open source software, specifications, and governance models needed to build scalable, standards-based dataspaces. The group’s mission is to advance interoperability, trust, and sovereignty across data ecosystems through open innovation and community-driven development.

The EDWG actively contributes to standards creation, implementation, and the integration of existing open source projects that support the growth of a global ecosystem of interoperable dataspaces.

Whether you represent an enterprise, technology vendor, cloud provider, academic institution, or public sector organisation, the EDWG offers a unique opportunity to shape the technologies and standards that will define the future of trusted data sharing. Membership provides a seat at the table in a growing global community, with opportunities for collaboration, visibility, and leadership in one of the fastest-evolving areas of digital innovation.

Learn more and get involved at https://dataspace.eclipse.org. Your participation can help shape the future of dataspaces worldwide.

About the Eclipse Foundation
The Eclipse Foundation provides our global community of individuals and organisations with a business-friendly environment for open source software collaboration and innovation. We host the Eclipse IDE, Adoptium, Software Defined Vehicle, Jakarta EE, Open VSX, and over 400 open source projects, including runtimes, tools, registries, specifications, and frameworks for cloud and edge applications, IoT, AI, automotive, systems engineering, open processor designs, and many others. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, the Eclipse Foundation is an international non-profit association supported by over 300 members. To learn more, follow us on social media @EclipseFdn, LinkedIn, or visit eclipse.org.

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