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1 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML 2.0//EN">
2 <HTML>
3 <HEAD>
4 <TITLE>The Free Software Definition - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF)</TITLE>
5 <LINK REV="made" HREF="mailto:webmasters@www.gnu.org">
6 </HEAD>
7 <BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#1F00FF" ALINK="#FF0000" VLINK="#9900DD">
8 <H3>The Free Software Definition</H3>
9
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39 <P>
40
41 We maintain this free software definition to show clearly what must be
42 true about a particular software program for it to be considered
43 free software.
44
45 <P>
46
47 ``Free software'' is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the
48 concept, you should think of ``free'' as in ``free speech,'' not as in
49 ``free beer.''
50 <P>
51 Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy,
52 distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely,
53 it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software:
54 <P>
55
56 <UL>
57 <LI>The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
58 <LI>The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs
59 (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
60 <LI>The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor
61 (freedom 2).
62 <LI>The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements
63 to the public, so that the whole community benefits.
64 (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
65 </UL>
66
67 <P>
68 A program is free software if users have all of these freedoms.
69 Thus, you should be free to redistribute copies, either with or
70 without modifications, either gratis or charging a fee for
71 distribution, to <A HREF="#exportcontrol">anyone anywhere</A>. Being
72 free to do these things means (among other things) that you do not
73 have to ask or pay for permission.
74
75 <P>
76 You should also have the freedom to make modifications and use them
77 privately in your own work or play, without even mentioning that they
78 exist. If you do publish your changes, you should not be required to
79 notify anyone in particular, or in any particular way.
80
81 <P>
82 The freedom to use a program means the freedom for any kind of person
83 or organization to use it on any kind of computer system, for any kind
84 of overall job, and without being required to communicate subsequently
85 with the developer or any other specific entity.
86
87 <P>
88 The freedom to redistribute copies must include binary or executable
89 forms of the program, as well as source code, for both modified and
90 unmodified versions. It is ok if there is no way to produce a binary
91 or executable form (since some languages don't support that feature),
92 but you must have the freedom to redistribute such forms should you
93 find or develop a way to make them.
94
95 <P>
96 In order for the freedoms to make changes, and to publish improved
97 versions, to be meaningful, you must have access to the source code of
98 the program. Therefore, accessibility of source code is a necessary
99 condition for free software.
100
101 <P>
102 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 cause, the software is not free.
106
107 <P>
108 However, certain kinds of rules about the manner of distributing free
109 software are acceptable, when they don't conflict with the central
110 freedoms. For example, copyleft (very simply stated) is the rule that
111 when redistributing the program, you cannot add restrictions to deny
112 other people the central freedoms. This rule does not conflict with
113 the central freedoms; rather it protects them.
114
115 <P>
116 Thus, you may have paid money to get copies of GNU software, or you
117 may have obtained copies at no charge. But regardless of how you got
118 your copies, you always have the freedom to copy and change the
119 software, even to <A HREF="/philosophy/selling.html">sell copies</A>.
120 <P>
121
122 ``Free software'' does not mean ``non-commercial''. A free program
123 must be available for commercial use, commercial development, and
124 commercial distribution. Commercial development of free software is
125 no longer unusual; such free commercial software is very important.
126
127 <P>
128 Rules about how to package a modified version are acceptable, if they
129 don't effectively block your freedom to release modified versions.
130 Rules that ``if you make the program available in this way, you must
131 make it available in that way also'' can be acceptable too, on the
132 same condition. (Note that such a rule still leaves you the choice of
133 whether to publish the program or not.) It is also acceptable for the
134 license to require that, if you have distributed a modified version
135 and a previous developer asks for a copy of it, you must send one.
136
137 <P>
138 In the GNU project, we use <A HREF="/copyleft/copyleft.html">
139 ``copyleft''</A> to protect these freedoms legally for everyone. But
140 <A HREF="/philosophy/categories.html#Non-CopyleftedFreeSoftware">
141 non-copylefted 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.
145
146 <P>
147 See <A HREF="/philosophy/categories.html">Categories of Free Software
148 (18k characters)</A>
149 for a description of how ``free software,'' ``copylefted software'' and
150 other categories of software relate to each other.
151
152 <P>
153 Sometimes government <A NAME="exportcontrol">export control
154 regulations</A> and trade sanctions can constrain your freedom to
155 distribute copies of programs internationally. Software developers do
156 not have the power to eliminate or override these restrictions, but
157 what they can and must do is refuse to impose them as conditions of
158 use of the program. In this way, the restrictions will not affect
159 activities and people outside the jurisdictions of these governments.
160
161 <P>
162 When talking about free software, it is best to avoid using terms like
163 ``give away'' or ``for free'', because those terms imply that the
164 issue is about price, not freedom. Some common terms such as
165 ``piracy'' embody opinions we hope you won't endorse. See <A
166 HREF="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html">Confusing Words and Phrases
167 that are Worth Avoiding</A> for a discussion of these terms.
168 We also have a list of <A HREF="/philosophy/fs-translations.html">translations
169 of "free software"</A> into various languages.
170
171 <P>
172
173 Finally, note that criteria such as those stated in this free software
174 definition require careful thought for their interpretation. To
175 decide whether a specific software license qualifies as a free
176 software license, we judge it based on these criteria to determine
177 whether it fits their spirit as well as the precise words. If a
178 license includes unconscionable restrictions, we reject it, even if we
179 did not anticipate the issue in these criteria. Sometimes a license
180 requirement raises an issue that calls for extensive thought,
181 including discussions with a lawyer, before we can decide if the
182 requirement is acceptable. When we reach a conclusion about a new
183 issue, we often update these criteria to make it easier to see why
184 certain licenses do or don't qualify.
185
186 <P>
187
188 If you are interested in whether a specific license qualifies as a
189 free software license, see our <A
190 HREF="/licenses/license-list.html">list of licenses</A>. If the
191 license you are concerned with is not listed there, you can ask us
192 about it by sending us email at <A
193 HREF="mailto:licensing@gnu.org">&lt;licensing@gnu.org&gt;</A>.
194
195 <HR>
196
197 <H4><A HREF="/philosophy/philosophy.html">Other Texts to Read</A></H4>
198
199 <P>
200 Another group has started using the term "open source" to mean
201 something close (but not identical) to "free software". We prefer the
202 term "free software" because, once you have heard it refers to freedom
203 rather than price, <A HREF="free-software-for-freedom.html">it calls
204 to mind freedom</A>.
205
206 <HR>
207 [
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210 <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.hr.html">Croatian</A>
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213 | <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.html">English</A>
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226 | <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.sl.html">Slovenian</A>
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229 <!-- Please keep this list alphabetical -->
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231 ]
232 <P>
233 Return to <A HREF="/home.html">GNU's home page</A>.
234 <P>
235
236 Please send FSF &amp; GNU inquiries &amp; questions to
237
238 <A HREF="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><EM>gnu@gnu.org</EM></A>.
239 There are also <A HREF="/home.html#ContactInfo">other ways to
240 contact</A> the FSF.
241 <P>
242
243 Please send comments on these web pages to
244
245 <A HREF="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><EM>webmasters@gnu.org</EM></A>,
246 send other questions to
247 <A HREF="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><EM>gnu@gnu.org</EM></A>.
248 <P>
249 Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
250 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111, USA
251 <P>
252 Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is
253 permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.
254 <P>
255 Updated:
256 <!-- timestamp start -->
257 $Date: 2002/03/03 23:12:18 $ $Author: guido_arnold $
258 <!-- timestamp end -->
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262

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