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Difference between revisions of "Free software"

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Revision as of 13:13, 15 August 2009

Free software is software which can be used, copied, redistributed, and whose source code can be viewed, modified, and also redistributed.

"Free software" is not a subtopic of software patents. All types of software development carry the risk of patent infringement. The reason these two topics often appear together is that, firstly, the free software community is very active and vocal in campaigning against software patents, and secondly, software patents threaten a general freedom that free software users value: the freedom to participate in software development.

The term open source is a near-synonym. Patents affect the freedom that users and developers have when dealing with software. Patents don't affect "openness", so ESP Wiki should use the term "free software".

Why free software groups should be involved

The free software movement says that everyone should be allowed to modify and redistribute the software they use. Software patents interfere with this because they can add legal risks and costs to software development and distribution.

Patent grants in 2005

IBM promised, for 500 of its patents, not to use them against free software.[1]

Sun[2] and Nokia[3] subsequently made promises that were so narrow in scope, they were qualified as "empty" and "next to nothing", respectively, by Richard Stallman.[4]

See also

External links

Free software harmed by swpats

References