The Free Software Foundation (FSF) started promoting the idea of sharing code way back in 1985, and since then it's defended the rights of computer users and developers. The FSF says that the terms "open" and "closed" are not effective words when classifying software, and instead considers programs either freedom-respecting ("free" or "libre") or freedom-trampling ("non-free" or "proprietary"). Whatever terminology you use, the imperative is that computers must belong, part and parcel, to the users, and not to the corporations that owns the software the computers run. This is why the GNU Project, and the Linux kernel, Freedesktop.org, and so many other open source projects are so important.
copyleft
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7 Questions To Ask Any Open Source Project
Whether you're starting an open source project or deciding whether to participate in one, you don't want to waste time in an endeavor that imposes arbitrary restrictions that will stop you in your tracks down the line...
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Copyleft Can’t Undo Copyright
As Black Duck’s in-house counsel, I talk to many lawyers representing our customers and in the Global 2000 generally. I’ve found that there is a common misperception around the impact of the GPL on IP that is worth clearing up. Read More »
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Copyright and Open Access at the Bedside
This action, unprecedented for a bedside clinical assessment tool, has sent a chill through the academic community; clearly, clinicians and researchers can no longer live in blissful ignorance of copyright...
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Explainer: What Is The Open Movement?
You’ll have read on this site, and perhaps others, about the push towards “open access” for journal articles. But what is open access, and how does it fit into the wider “open movement”? Read More »
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GitHub's Wild West Approach To Licensing Has Hidden Costs
The GitHub generation doesn't seem to like the bother of licenses, but is it prepared to stomach the costs? Read More »
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How Open Source Licenses Affect Your Business and Your Developers
For most of the 2000s, copyleft licenses (in particular the GPLv2) were the most popular choice for new open source projects. In the last few years, developers and companies seem to be trending away from the GPL in favor of permissive licenses for open source projects. Read More »
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How To Choose Your Open Source Hardware License
It’s always tricky when you create something: a complex project, a commercial product or just an hack and then you must decide what license you should use for that, for releasing it to the public... Read More »
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Interview With Free Software Foundation Executive Director Zoë Kooyman
Open Source Needs To Clean Up Its Language
The licensing terms 'weak copyleft,' 'strong copyleft,' and 'permissive' are confusing. Here are my proposed alternatives Read More »
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Technology Trumps Dogma, And Other Open Source Insights
A few weeks back I asked Marten Mickos (@martenmickos), CEO of Eucalyptus Systems, to comment on the changing face of open source. He did, and with the usual Mickos style. Unfortunately, a whole lot of great commentary had to be cut for space reasons. Read More »
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The Free Software Foundation: 30 Years In
The Free Software Foundation was founded in 1985. To paint a picture of what computing was like back then, the Amiga 1000 was released, C++ was becoming a dominant language, Aldus PageMaker was announced, and networking was just starting to grow. Oh, and that year Careless Whisper by Wham! was a major hit. Things have changed a lot in 30 years. Back in 1985 the FSF was primarily focused on building free pieces of software that were primarily useful to nerdy computer people. These days we have software, services, social networks, and more to consider...
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