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Clarify whose purpose is significant in the freedom to run the program
for any purpose.

1 wkotwica 1.24 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
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7     <title>The Free Software Definition - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF)</title>
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21 johnsu01 1.45 <div id="header">
22     <a href="http://www.defectivebydesign.org/join/gnu"><img src="/graphics/dbd.png" alt="[Join the FSF Campaign to Eliminate DRM]" /></a>
23     </div>
24    
25     <hr />
26    
27 wkotwica 1.24 <p><a href="#translations">Translations</a> of this page</p>
28    
29     <h3>The Free Software Definition</h3>
30     <p>
31     <a href="/graphics/philosophicalgnu.html"><img src="/graphics/philosophical-gnu-sm.jpg" alt=" [image of a Philosophical Gnu] " width="160" height="200" /></a>
32     </p>
33 webcvs 1.1
34 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
35 webcvs 1.2 We maintain this free software definition to show clearly what must be
36     true about a particular software program for it to be considered
37 wkotwica 1.24 free software.</p>
38     <p>
39 paulv 1.3 ``Free software'' is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the
40     concept, you should think of ``free'' as in ``free speech,'' not as in
41 wkotwica 1.24 ``free beer.''</p>
42     <p>
43 rms 1.5 Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy,
44 webcvs 1.1 distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely,
45 wkotwica 1.24 it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software:</p>
46 webcvs 1.1
47 wkotwica 1.24 <ul>
48     <li>The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).</li>
49     <li>The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs
50     (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.</li>
51     <li>The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor
52     (freedom 2).</li>
53     <li>The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements
54 rps 1.21 to the public, so that the whole community benefits
55 wkotwica 1.24 (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.</li>
56     </ul>
57 webcvs 1.1
58 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
59 webcvs 1.1 A program is free software if users have all of these freedoms.
60     Thus, you should be free to redistribute copies, either with or
61     without modifications, either gratis or charging a fee for
62 wkotwica 1.24 distribution, to <a href="#exportcontrol">anyone anywhere</a>. Being
63 webcvs 1.1 free to do these things means (among other things) that you do not
64 wkotwica 1.24 have to ask or pay for permission.</p>
65     <p>
66 webcvs 1.1 You should also have the freedom to make modifications and use them
67     privately in your own work or play, without even mentioning that they
68     exist. If you do publish your changes, you should not be required to
69 wkotwica 1.24 notify anyone in particular, or in any particular way.</p>
70     <p>
71 rms 1.46 The freedom to run the program means the freedom for any kind of
72     person or organization to use it on any kind of computer system, for
73     any kind of overall job and purpose, without being required to
74     communicate about it with the developer or any other specific entity.
75     In this freedom, it is the <em>user's</em> purpose that matters, not
76     the <em>developer's</em> purpose; you as a user are free to run a
77     program for your purposes, and if you distribute it to someone else,
78     she is then free to run it for her purposes, but you are not entitled
79     to impose your purposes on her.
80     </p>
81 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
82 webcvs 1.1 The freedom to redistribute copies must include binary or executable
83 rms 1.5 forms of the program, as well as source code, for both modified and
84 rms 1.16 unmodified versions. (Distributing programs in runnable form is
85     necessary for conveniently installable free operating systems.) It is
86     ok if there is no way to produce a binary or executable form for a
87     certain program (since some languages don't support that feature), but
88     you must have the freedom to redistribute such forms should you find
89 wkotwica 1.24 or develop a way to make them.</p>
90     <p>
91 webcvs 1.1 In order for the freedoms to make changes, and to publish improved
92     versions, to be meaningful, you must have access to the source code of
93     the program. Therefore, accessibility of source code is a necessary
94 wkotwica 1.24 condition for free software.</p>
95     <p>
96 novalis 1.40 One important way to modify a program is by merging in available free
97     subroutines and modules. If the program's license says that you
98     cannot merge in an existing module, such as if it requires you to be
99     the copyright holder of any code you add, then the license is too
100     restrictive to qualify as free.</p>
101     <p>
102 webcvs 1.1 In order for these freedoms to be real, they must be irrevocable as
103     long as you do nothing wrong; if the developer of the software has the
104     power to revoke the license, without your doing anything to give
105 wkotwica 1.24 cause, the software is not free.</p>
106     <p>
107 webcvs 1.1 However, certain kinds of rules about the manner of distributing free
108     software are acceptable, when they don't conflict with the central
109     freedoms. For example, copyleft (very simply stated) is the rule that
110     when redistributing the program, you cannot add restrictions to deny
111     other people the central freedoms. This rule does not conflict with
112 wkotwica 1.24 the central freedoms; rather it protects them.</p>
113     <p>
114 rms 1.31 You may have paid money to get copies of free software, or you
115 webcvs 1.1 may have obtained copies at no charge. But regardless of how you got
116     your copies, you always have the freedom to copy and change the
117 wkotwica 1.24 software, even to <a href="/philosophy/selling.html">sell copies</a>.</p>
118     <p>
119 webcvs 1.1 ``Free software'' does not mean ``non-commercial''. A free program
120 rms 1.11 must be available for commercial use, commercial development, and
121     commercial distribution. Commercial development of free software is
122 wkotwica 1.24 no longer unusual; such free commercial software is very important.</p>
123     <p>
124 webcvs 1.1 Rules about how to package a modified version are acceptable, if they
125 rms 1.39 don't substantively block your freedom to release modified versions,
126     or your freedom to make and use modified versions privately. Rules
127     that ``if you make your version available in this way, you must make
128     it available in that way also'' can be acceptable too, on the same
129     condition. (Note that such a rule still leaves you the choice of
130     whether to publish your version at all.) Rules that require release
131     of source code to the users for versions that you put into public use
132     are also acceptable. It is also acceptable for the license to require
133     that, if you have distributed a modified version and a previous
134     developer asks for a copy of it, you must send one, or that you
135     identify yourself on your modifications.
136     </p>
137 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
138     In the GNU project, we use <a href="/copyleft/copyleft.html">``copyleft''</a>
139     to protect these freedoms legally for everyone. But
140     <a href="/philosophy/categories.html#Non-CopyleftedFreeSoftware">non-copylefted
141     free software</a> also exists. We believe there are
142     important reasons why <a href="/philosophy/pragmatic.html"> it is
143     better to use copyleft</a>, but if your program is non-copylefted free
144     software, we can still use it.</p>
145     <p>
146     See <a href="/philosophy/categories.html">Categories of Free Software</a>
147 webcvs 1.1 for a description of how ``free software,'' ``copylefted software'' and
148 wkotwica 1.24 other categories of software relate to each other.</p>
149     <p>
150     Sometimes government <a id="exportcontrol">export control
151     regulations</a> and trade sanctions can constrain your freedom to
152 webcvs 1.1 distribute copies of programs internationally. Software developers do
153     not have the power to eliminate or override these restrictions, but
154     what they can and must do is refuse to impose them as conditions of
155     use of the program. In this way, the restrictions will not affect
156 wkotwica 1.24 activities and people outside the jurisdictions of these governments.</p>
157     <p>
158 rms 1.23 Most free software licenses are based on copyright, and there are
159     limits on what kinds of requirements can be imposed through copyright.
160     If a copyright-based license respects freedom in the ways described
161     above, it is unlikely to have some other sort of problem that we never
162     anticipated (though this does happen occasionally). However, some
163     free software licenses are based on contracts, and contracts can
164     impose a much larger range of possible restrictions. That means there
165     are many possible ways such a license could be unacceptably
166 wkotwica 1.24 restrictive and non-free.</p>
167     <p>
168 rms 1.41 We can't possibly list all the ways that might happen. If a
169     contract-based license restricts the user in an unusual way that
170     copyright-based licenses cannot, and which isn't mentioned here as
171     legitimate, we will have to think about it, and we will probably
172     conclude it is non-free.</p>
173 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
174 webcvs 1.1 When talking about free software, it is best to avoid using terms like
175     ``give away'' or ``for free'', because those terms imply that the
176     issue is about price, not freedom. Some common terms such as
177 wkotwica 1.24 ``piracy'' embody opinions we hope you won't endorse. See
178     <a href="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html">Confusing Words and Phrases
179     that are Worth Avoiding</a> for a discussion of these terms.
180     We also have a list of <a href="/philosophy/fs-translations.html">translations
181     of "free software"</a> into various languages.</p>
182     <p>
183 webcvs 1.2 Finally, note that criteria such as those stated in this free software
184     definition require careful thought for their interpretation. To
185     decide whether a specific software license qualifies as a free
186     software license, we judge it based on these criteria to determine
187     whether it fits their spirit as well as the precise words. If a
188     license includes unconscionable restrictions, we reject it, even if we
189     did not anticipate the issue in these criteria. Sometimes a license
190 rms 1.11 requirement raises an issue that calls for extensive thought,
191     including discussions with a lawyer, before we can decide if the
192     requirement is acceptable. When we reach a conclusion about a new
193     issue, we often update these criteria to make it easier to see why
194 wkotwica 1.24 certain licenses do or don't qualify.</p>
195     <p>
196 webcvs 1.2 If you are interested in whether a specific license qualifies as a
197 novalis 1.29 free software license, see our <a
198     href="/licenses/license-list.html">list of licenses</a>. If the
199 webcvs 1.2 license you are concerned with is not listed there, you can ask us
200 novalis 1.29 about it by sending us email at <a
201     href="mailto:licensing@gnu.org">&lt;licensing@gnu.org&gt;</a>.</p> <p>
202     If you are contemplating writing a new license, please contact the FSF
203     by writing to that address. The proliferation of different free
204     software licenses means increased work for users in understanding the
205     licenses; we may be able to help you find an existing Free Software
206     license that meets your needs.
207     </p>
208 webcvs 1.2
209 novalis 1.29 <p>
210     If that isn't possible, if you really need a new license, with our
211     help you can ensure that the license really is a Free Software license
212     and avoid various practical problems.
213     </p>
214 wkotwica 1.24 <hr />
215 webcvs 1.1
216 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
217 rms 1.11 Another group has started using the term "open source" to mean
218     something close (but not identical) to "free software". We prefer the
219     term "free software" because, once you have heard it refers to freedom
220 wkotwica 1.24 rather than price, <a href="free-software-for-freedom.html">it calls
221 rms 1.31 to mind freedom</a>. The word "open" never does that.</p>
222 wkotwica 1.24
223     <hr />
224     <h4><a href="/philosophy/philosophy.html">Other Texts to Read</a></h4>
225    
226 webcvs 1.1
227 wkotwica 1.24 <!-- All pages on the GNU web server should have the section about -->
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232    
233     <div class="translations">
234     <p><a id="translations"></a>
235     <b>Translations of this page</b>:<br />
236    
237     <!-- Please keep this list alphabetical, and in the original -->
238     <!-- language if possible, otherwise default to English -->
239     <!-- If you do not have it English, please comment what the -->
240     <!-- English is. If you add a new language here, please -->
241 alex_muntada 1.36 <!-- advise web-translators@gnu.org and add it to -->
242 wkotwica 1.24 <!-- - in /home/www/bin/nightly-vars either TAGSLANG or WEBLANG -->
243     <!-- - in /home/www/html/server/standards/README.translations.html -->
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247     <!-- Please also check you have the 2 letter language code right versus -->
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249 rms46 1.10 [
250 hicham 1.44 <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.ar.html">&#1575;&#1604;&#1593;&#1585;&#1576;&#1610;&#1577;</a> |<!-- Arabic -->
251 alex_muntada 1.32 <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.ca.html">Catal&#x00e0;</a> <!-- Catalan -->
252    
253 chstoneliu 1.30 <!-- Chinese (Simplified) -->
254 alex_muntada 1.32 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.cn.html">&#x7b80;&#x4f53;&#x4e2d;&#x6587;</a>
255 chstoneliu 1.30
256     <!-- Chinese (Traditional) -->
257     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.zh.html">&#x7e41;&#x9ad4;&#x4e2d;&#x6587;</a>
258    
259     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.cs.html">&#x010c;esky</a> <!-- Czech -->
260 wkotwica 1.24 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.da.html">Dansk</a> <!-- Danish -->
261     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.de.html">Deutsch</a> <!-- German -->
262     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.html">English</a>
263 yanis 1.43 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.el.html">Ελληνικά</a> <!--Greek-->
264 wkotwica 1.24 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.es.html">Espa&#x00f1;ol</a> <!-- Spanish -->
265 civodul 1.42 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.eo.html">Esperanto</a>
266 alex_muntada 1.33
267     <!-- Persian/Farsi -->
268     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.fa.html">&#x0641;&#x0627;&#x0631;&#x0633;&#x06cc;</a>
269    
270 wkotwica 1.24 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.fr.html">Fran&#x00e7;ais</a> <!-- French -->
271     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.gl.html">Galego</a> <!-- Galician -->
272 the_duke 1.25 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.he.html">&#x05e2;&#x05d1;&#x05e8;&#x05d9;&#x05ea;</a> <!-- Hebrew -->
273 wkotwica 1.24 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.hr.html">Hrvatski</a> <!-- Croatian -->
274     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.id.html">Bahasa Indonesia</a> <!-- Indonesian -->
275     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.it.html">Italiano</a> <!-- Italian -->
276     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.ja.html">&#x65e5;&#x672c;&#x8a9e;</a> <!-- Japanese -->
277     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.ko.html">&#xd55c;&#xad6d;&#xc5b4;</a> <!-- Korean -->
278     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.hu.html">Magyar</a> <!-- Hungarian -->
279     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.nl.html">Nederlands</a> <!-- Dutch -->
280     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.no.html">Norsk</a> <!-- Norwegian -->
281     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.pl.html">Polski</a> <!-- Polish -->
282     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.pt.html">Portugu&#x0ea;s</a> <!-- Portuguese -->
283 wkotwica 1.35 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.ro.html">Rom&#x00e2;n&#x0103;</a> <!-- Romanian -->
284 wkotwica 1.24 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.ru.html">&#1056;&#1091;&#1089;&#1089;&#1082;&#1080;&#1081;</a> <!-- Russian -->
285 canderson 1.27 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.sl.html">Slovinsko</a> <!--- Slovenian -->
286 Ctpajgep 1.34 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.sr.html">&#x0421;&#x0440;&#x043f;&#x0441;&#x043a;&#x0438;</a> <!-- Serbian -->
287 alex_muntada 1.38 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.tl.html">Tagalog</a> <!-- Tagalog -->
288 wkotwica 1.24 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.tr.html">T&#x00fc;rk&#x00e7;e</a> <!-- Turkish -->
289 rms46 1.10 ]
290 wkotwica 1.24 </p>
291     </div>
292    
293     <div class="copyright">
294     <p>
295     Return to the <a href="/home.html">GNU Project home page</a>.
296     </p>
297    
298     <p>
299     Please send FSF &amp; GNU inquiries to
300     <a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><em>gnu@gnu.org</em></a>.
301     There are also <a href="/home.html#ContactInfo">other ways to contact</a>
302     the FSF.
303     <br />
304     Please send broken links and other corrections (or suggestions) to
305     <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><em>webmasters@gnu.org</em></a>.
306     </p>
307    
308     <p>
309     Please see the
310     <a href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
311     README</a> for information on coordinating and submitting
312     translations of this article.
313     </p>
314    
315     <p>
316 derekgnu 1.28 Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Free
317 novalis 1.37 Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA
318     02110, USA
319 wkotwica 1.24 <br />
320 webcvs 1.1 Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is
321 wkotwica 1.24 permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is
322     preserved.
323     </p>
324    
325     <p>
326 webcvs 1.1 Updated:
327 paulv 1.3 <!-- timestamp start -->
328 rms 1.46 $Date: 2006/06/05 02:17:57 $ $Author: johnsu01 $
329 paulv 1.3 <!-- timestamp end -->
330 wkotwica 1.24 </p>
331     </div>
332 rms46 1.10
333 wkotwica 1.24 </body>
334     </html>

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