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1 wkotwica 1.24 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
2 sinuhe 1.48 <?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" href="/gnu.css"?>
3 wkotwica 1.24 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
4     "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
5     <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">
6    
7     <head>
8 sinuhe 1.48 <title>
9     The Free Software Definition - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF)
10     </title>
11 wkotwica 1.26 <link rev="made" href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org" />
12 wkotwica 1.24 </head>
13    
14 sinuhe 1.48 <!-- This document is in XML and XHTML. -->
15     <!-- Please ensure that your final document is -->
16     <!-- consistent with W3C XHTML and CSS standards -->
17     <!-- Also, see validator.w3.org -->
18 wkotwica 1.24
19     <body>
20    
21 johnsu01 1.45 <div id="header">
22 sinuhe 1.48 <a href="http://www.defectivebydesign.org/join/gnu">
23     <img src="/graphics/dbd.png"
24     alt="[Join the FSF Campaign to Eliminate DRM]" />
25     </a>
26 johnsu01 1.45 </div>
27    
28     <hr />
29    
30 wkotwica 1.24 <p><a href="#translations">Translations</a> of this page</p>
31    
32     <h3>The Free Software Definition</h3>
33     <p>
34 sinuhe 1.48 <a href="/graphics/philosophicalgnu.html">
35     <img src="/graphics/philosophical-gnu-sm.jpg"
36     alt=" [image of a Philosophical Gnu] "
37     width="160px"
38     height="200px" />
39     </a>
40 wkotwica 1.24 </p>
41 webcvs 1.1
42 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
43 sinuhe 1.48 We maintain this free software definition to show clearly what must
44     be true about a particular software program for it to be considered
45     free software.
46     </p>
47    
48 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
49 sinuhe 1.48 <q>Free software</q> is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand
50     the concept, you should think of <q>free</q> as in <q>free speech,</q>
51     not as in <q>free beer.</q>
52     </p>
53    
54 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
55 sinuhe 1.48 Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute,
56     study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it refers to
57     four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software:
58     </p>
59 webcvs 1.1
60 wkotwica 1.24 <ul>
61     <li>The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).</li>
62 sinuhe 1.48 <li>The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to
63     your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition
64     for this.
65     </li>
66 wkotwica 1.24 <li>The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor
67 sinuhe 1.48 (freedom 2).
68     </li>
69 wkotwica 1.24 <li>The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements
70 sinuhe 1.48 to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3).
71     Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
72     </li>
73 wkotwica 1.24 </ul>
74 webcvs 1.1
75 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
76 sinuhe 1.48 A program is free software if users have all of these freedoms. Thus,
77     you should be free to redistribute copies, either with or without
78     modifications, either gratis or charging a fee for distribution, to
79     <a href="#exportcontrol">anyone anywhere</a>. Being free to do these
80     things means (among other things) that you do not have to ask or pay
81     for permission.
82     </p>
83    
84 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
85 webcvs 1.1 You should also have the freedom to make modifications and use them
86     privately in your own work or play, without even mentioning that they
87     exist. If you do publish your changes, you should not be required to
88 sinuhe 1.48 notify anyone in particular, or in any particular way.
89     </p>
90    
91 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
92 sinuhe 1.48 The freedom to run the program means the freedom for any kind of person
93     or organization to use it on any kind of computer system, for any kind of
94     overall job and purpose, without being required to communicate about it
95     with the developer or any other specific entity. In this freedom, it is
96     the <em>user's</em> purpose that matters, not the <em>developer's</em>
97     purpose; you as a user are free to run a program for your purposes,
98     and if you distribute it to someone else, she is then free to run it
99     for her purposes, but you are not entitled to impose your purposes on her.
100 rms 1.46 </p>
101 sinuhe 1.48
102 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
103 webcvs 1.1 The freedom to redistribute copies must include binary or executable
104 rms 1.5 forms of the program, as well as source code, for both modified and
105 sinuhe 1.48 unmodified versions. (Distributing programs in runnable form is necessary
106     for conveniently installable free operating systems.) It is ok if there
107     is no way to produce a binary or executable form for a certain program
108     (since some languages don't support that feature), but you must have the
109     freedom to redistribute such forms should you find or develop a way to
110     make them.
111     </p>
112    
113 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
114 webcvs 1.1 In order for the freedoms to make changes, and to publish improved
115     versions, to be meaningful, you must have access to the source code of
116     the program. Therefore, accessibility of source code is a necessary
117 sinuhe 1.48 condition for free software.
118     </p>
119    
120 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
121 sinuhe 1.48 One important way to modify a program is by merging in available
122     free subroutines and modules. If the program's license says that you
123     cannot merge in an existing module, such as if it requires you to be the
124     copyright holder of any code you add, then the license is too restrictive
125     to qualify as free.
126     </p>
127    
128 novalis 1.40 <p>
129 webcvs 1.1 In order for these freedoms to be real, they must be irrevocable as
130     long as you do nothing wrong; if the developer of the software has the
131 sinuhe 1.48 power to revoke the license, without your doing anything to give cause,
132     the software is not free.
133     </p>
134    
135 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
136 webcvs 1.1 However, certain kinds of rules about the manner of distributing free
137     software are acceptable, when they don't conflict with the central
138     freedoms. For example, copyleft (very simply stated) is the rule that
139     when redistributing the program, you cannot add restrictions to deny
140     other people the central freedoms. This rule does not conflict with
141 sinuhe 1.48 the central freedoms; rather it protects them.
142     </p>
143    
144     <p>
145     You may have paid money to get copies of free software, or you may have
146     obtained copies at no charge. But regardless of how you got your copies,
147     you always have the freedom to copy and change the software, even to
148     <a href="/philosophy/selling.html">sell copies</a>.
149     </p>
150    
151 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
152 sinuhe 1.48 <q>Free software</q> does not mean <q>non-commercial.</q> A free
153     program must be available for commercial use, commercial development,
154     and commercial distribution. Commercial development of free software
155     is no longer unusual; such free commercial software is very important.
156     </p>
157    
158 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
159 webcvs 1.1 Rules about how to package a modified version are acceptable, if they
160 sinuhe 1.48 don't substantively block your freedom to release modified versions, or
161     your freedom to make and use modified versions privately. Rules that <q>if
162     you make your version available in this way, you must make it available in
163     that way also</q> can be acceptable too, on the same condition. (Note that
164     such a rule still leaves you the choice of whether to publish your version
165     at all.) Rules that require release of source code to the users for
166     versions that you put into public use are also acceptable. It is also
167     acceptable for the license to require that, if you have distributed a
168     modified version and a previous developer asks for a copy of it, you
169     must send one, or that you identify yourself on your modifications.
170 rms 1.39 </p>
171 sinuhe 1.48
172 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
173 sinuhe 1.48 In the GNU project, we use
174     <q><a href="/copyleft/copyleft.html">copyleft</a></q>
175     to protect these freedoms legally for everyone. But
176 wkotwica 1.24 <a href="/philosophy/categories.html#Non-CopyleftedFreeSoftware">non-copylefted
177 sinuhe 1.48 free software</a> also exists. We believe there are important reasons why
178     <a href="/philosophy/pragmatic.html"> it is better to use copyleft</a>,
179     but if your program is non-copylefted free software, we can still
180     use it.
181     </p>
182    
183 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
184     See <a href="/philosophy/categories.html">Categories of Free Software</a>
185 sinuhe 1.48 for a description of how <q>free software,</q> <q>copylefted software</q>
186     and other categories of software relate to each other.
187     </p>
188    
189     <p>
190     Sometimes government <a id="exportcontrol">export control regulations</a>
191     and trade sanctions can constrain your freedom to distribute copies of
192     programs internationally. Software developers do not have the power to
193     eliminate or override these restrictions, but what they can and must do
194     is refuse to impose them as conditions of use of the program. In this
195     way, the restrictions will not affect activities and people outside the
196     jurisdictions of these governments.
197     </p>
198    
199 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
200 sinuhe 1.48 Most free software licenses are based on copyright, and there are limits
201     on what kinds of requirements can be imposed through copyright. If a
202     copyright-based license respects freedom in the ways described above, it
203     is unlikely to have some other sort of problem that we never anticipated
204     (though this does happen occasionally). However, some free software
205     licenses are based on contracts, and contracts can impose a much larger
206     range of possible restrictions. That means there are many possible ways
207     such a license could be unacceptably restrictive and non-free.
208     </p>
209    
210 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
211 rms 1.41 We can't possibly list all the ways that might happen. If a
212     contract-based license restricts the user in an unusual way that
213     copyright-based licenses cannot, and which isn't mentioned here as
214 sinuhe 1.48 legitimate, we will have to think about it, and we will probably conclude
215     it is non-free.
216     </p>
217    
218 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
219 sinuhe 1.48 When talking about free software, it is best to avoid using terms
220     like <q>give away</q> or <q>for free,</q> because those terms imply that
221     the issue is about price, not freedom. Some common terms such
222     as <q>piracy</q> embody opinions we hope you won't endorse. See
223     <a href="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html">Confusing Words and Phrases that
224     are Worth Avoiding</a> for a discussion of these terms. We also have
225     a list of <a href="/philosophy/fs-translations.html">translations of
226     <q>free software</q></a> into various languages.
227     </p>
228    
229 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
230 webcvs 1.2 Finally, note that criteria such as those stated in this free software
231 sinuhe 1.48 definition require careful thought for their interpretation. To decide
232     whether a specific software license qualifies as a free software license,
233     we judge it based on these criteria to determine whether it fits their
234     spirit as well as the precise words. If a license includes unconscionable
235     restrictions, we reject it, even if we did not anticipate the issue
236     in these criteria. Sometimes a license requirement raises an issue
237     that calls for extensive thought, including discussions with a lawyer,
238     before we can decide if the requirement is acceptable. When we reach
239     a conclusion about a new issue, we often update these criteria to make
240     it easier to see why certain licenses do or don't qualify.
241     </p>
242    
243     <p>
244     If you are interested in whether a specific license qualifies as a free
245     software license, see our <a href="/licenses/license-list.html">list
246     of licenses</a>. If the license you are concerned with is not
247     listed there, you can ask us about it by sending us email at
248     <a href="mailto:licensing@gnu.org">&lt;licensing@gnu.org&gt;</a>.
249     </p>
250    
251     <p>
252 novalis 1.29 If you are contemplating writing a new license, please contact the FSF
253 sinuhe 1.48 by writing to that address. The proliferation of different free software
254     licenses means increased work for users in understanding the licenses;
255     we may be able to help you find an existing Free Software license that
256     meets your needs.
257 novalis 1.29 </p>
258 webcvs 1.2
259 novalis 1.29 <p>
260     If that isn't possible, if you really need a new license, with our
261     help you can ensure that the license really is a Free Software license
262     and avoid various practical problems.
263     </p>
264 sinuhe 1.48
265 wkotwica 1.24 <hr />
266 webcvs 1.1
267 wkotwica 1.24 <p>
268 sinuhe 1.48 Another group has started using the term <q>open source</q> to mean
269     something close (but not identical) to <q>free software.</q> We prefer
270     the term <q>free software</q> because, once you have heard it refers to
271     freedom rather than price, <a href="free-software-for-freedom.html">it
272     calls to mind freedom</a>. The word <q>open</q> never does that.
273     </p>
274 wkotwica 1.24
275     <hr />
276 sinuhe 1.48
277 wkotwica 1.24 <h4><a href="/philosophy/philosophy.html">Other Texts to Read</a></h4>
278    
279     <div class="translations">
280     <p><a id="translations"></a>
281     <b>Translations of this page</b>:<br />
282    
283     <!-- Please keep this list alphabetical, and in the original -->
284     <!-- language if possible, otherwise default to English -->
285     <!-- If you do not have it English, please comment what the -->
286     <!-- English is. If you add a new language here, please -->
287 alex_muntada 1.36 <!-- advise web-translators@gnu.org and add it to -->
288 wkotwica 1.24 <!-- - in /home/www/bin/nightly-vars either TAGSLANG or WEBLANG -->
289     <!-- - in /home/www/html/server/standards/README.translations.html -->
290     <!-- one of the lists under the section "Translations Underway" -->
291     <!-- - if there is a translation team, you also have to add an alias -->
292     <!-- to mail.gnu.org:/com/mailer/aliases -->
293     <!-- Please also check you have the 2 letter language code right versus -->
294     <!-- http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/IG/ert/iso639.htm -->
295 rms46 1.10 [
296 yavor 1.47 <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.ar.html">&#1575;&#1604;&#1593;&#1585;&#1576;&#1610;&#1577;</a> <!-- Arabic -->
297     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.bg.html">&#x431;&#x44A;&#x43B;&#x433;&#x430;&#x440;&#x441;&#x43A;&#x438;</a> <!-- Bulgarian -->
298     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.ca.html">Catal&#x00e0;</a> <!-- Catalan -->
299 alex_muntada 1.32
300 chstoneliu 1.30 <!-- Chinese (Simplified) -->
301 alex_muntada 1.32 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.cn.html">&#x7b80;&#x4f53;&#x4e2d;&#x6587;</a>
302 chstoneliu 1.30
303     <!-- Chinese (Traditional) -->
304     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.zh.html">&#x7e41;&#x9ad4;&#x4e2d;&#x6587;</a>
305    
306     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.cs.html">&#x010c;esky</a> <!-- Czech -->
307 wkotwica 1.24 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.da.html">Dansk</a> <!-- Danish -->
308     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.de.html">Deutsch</a> <!-- German -->
309     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.html">English</a>
310 yanis 1.43 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.el.html">Ελληνικά</a> <!--Greek-->
311 wkotwica 1.24 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.es.html">Espa&#x00f1;ol</a> <!-- Spanish -->
312 civodul 1.42 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.eo.html">Esperanto</a>
313 alex_muntada 1.33
314     <!-- Persian/Farsi -->
315     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.fa.html">&#x0641;&#x0627;&#x0631;&#x0633;&#x06cc;</a>
316    
317 wkotwica 1.24 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.fr.html">Fran&#x00e7;ais</a> <!-- French -->
318     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.gl.html">Galego</a> <!-- Galician -->
319 the_duke 1.25 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.he.html">&#x05e2;&#x05d1;&#x05e8;&#x05d9;&#x05ea;</a> <!-- Hebrew -->
320 wkotwica 1.24 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.hr.html">Hrvatski</a> <!-- Croatian -->
321     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.id.html">Bahasa Indonesia</a> <!-- Indonesian -->
322     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.it.html">Italiano</a> <!-- Italian -->
323     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.ja.html">&#x65e5;&#x672c;&#x8a9e;</a> <!-- Japanese -->
324     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.ko.html">&#xd55c;&#xad6d;&#xc5b4;</a> <!-- Korean -->
325     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.hu.html">Magyar</a> <!-- Hungarian -->
326     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.nl.html">Nederlands</a> <!-- Dutch -->
327     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.no.html">Norsk</a> <!-- Norwegian -->
328     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.pl.html">Polski</a> <!-- Polish -->
329     | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.pt.html">Portugu&#x0ea;s</a> <!-- Portuguese -->
330 wkotwica 1.35 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.ro.html">Rom&#x00e2;n&#x0103;</a> <!-- Romanian -->
331 wkotwica 1.24 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.ru.html">&#1056;&#1091;&#1089;&#1089;&#1082;&#1080;&#1081;</a> <!-- Russian -->
332 canderson 1.27 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.sl.html">Slovinsko</a> <!--- Slovenian -->
333 Ctpajgep 1.34 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.sr.html">&#x0421;&#x0440;&#x043f;&#x0441;&#x043a;&#x0438;</a> <!-- Serbian -->
334 alex_muntada 1.38 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.tl.html">Tagalog</a> <!-- Tagalog -->
335 wkotwica 1.24 | <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.tr.html">T&#x00fc;rk&#x00e7;e</a> <!-- Turkish -->
336 rms46 1.10 ]
337 wkotwica 1.24 </p>
338     </div>
339    
340     <div class="copyright">
341     <p>
342     Return to the <a href="/home.html">GNU Project home page</a>.
343     </p>
344    
345     <p>
346     Please send FSF &amp; GNU inquiries to
347     <a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><em>gnu@gnu.org</em></a>.
348     There are also <a href="/home.html#ContactInfo">other ways to contact</a>
349     the FSF.
350     <br />
351     Please send broken links and other corrections (or suggestions) to
352     <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><em>webmasters@gnu.org</em></a>.
353     </p>
354    
355     <p>
356     Please see the
357     <a href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
358     README</a> for information on coordinating and submitting
359     translations of this article.
360     </p>
361    
362     <p>
363 derekgnu 1.28 Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Free
364 novalis 1.37 Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA
365     02110, USA
366 wkotwica 1.24 <br />
367 webcvs 1.1 Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is
368 wkotwica 1.24 permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is
369     preserved.
370     </p>
371    
372     <p>
373 webcvs 1.1 Updated:
374 paulv 1.3 <!-- timestamp start -->
375 sinuhe 1.48 $Date: 2006/09/22 22:26:36 $ $Author: yavor $
376 paulv 1.3 <!-- timestamp end -->
377 wkotwica 1.24 </p>
378     </div>
379 rms46 1.10
380 wkotwica 1.24 </body>
381     </html>

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