1 |
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> |
2 |
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" |
3 |
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> |
4 |
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en"> |
5 |
|
6 |
<head> |
7 |
<title>The Free Software Definition - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF)</title> |
8 |
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content='text/html; charset=utf-8' /> |
9 |
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/gnu.css" /> |
10 |
<link rev="made" href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org" /> |
11 |
</head> |
12 |
|
13 |
<!-- This document is in XML, and xhtml 1.0 --> |
14 |
<!-- Please make sure to properly nest your tags --> |
15 |
<!-- and ensure that your final document validates --> |
16 |
<!-- consistent with W3C xhtml 1.0 and CSS standards --> |
17 |
<!-- See validator.w3.org --> |
18 |
|
19 |
<body> |
20 |
|
21 |
<p><a href="#translations">Translations</a> of this page</p> |
22 |
|
23 |
<h3>The Free Software Definition</h3> |
24 |
<p> |
25 |
<a href="/graphics/philosophicalgnu.html"><img src="/graphics/philosophical-gnu-sm.jpg" alt=" [image of a Philosophical Gnu] " width="160" height="200" /></a> |
26 |
</p> |
27 |
|
28 |
<p> |
29 |
We maintain this free software definition to show clearly what must be |
30 |
true about a particular software program for it to be considered |
31 |
free software.</p> |
32 |
<p> |
33 |
``Free software'' is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the |
34 |
concept, you should think of ``free'' as in ``free speech,'' not as in |
35 |
``free beer.''</p> |
36 |
<p> |
37 |
Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, |
38 |
distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, |
39 |
it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software:</p> |
40 |
|
41 |
<ul> |
42 |
<li>The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).</li> |
43 |
<li>The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs |
44 |
(freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.</li> |
45 |
<li>The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor |
46 |
(freedom 2).</li> |
47 |
<li>The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements |
48 |
to the public, so that the whole community benefits |
49 |
(freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.</li> |
50 |
</ul> |
51 |
|
52 |
<p> |
53 |
A program is free software if users have all of these freedoms. |
54 |
Thus, you should be free to redistribute copies, either with or |
55 |
without modifications, either gratis or charging a fee for |
56 |
distribution, to <a href="#exportcontrol">anyone anywhere</a>. Being |
57 |
free to do these things means (among other things) that you do not |
58 |
have to ask or pay for permission.</p> |
59 |
<p> |
60 |
You should also have the freedom to make modifications and use them |
61 |
privately in your own work or play, without even mentioning that they |
62 |
exist. If you do publish your changes, you should not be required to |
63 |
notify anyone in particular, or in any particular way.</p> |
64 |
<p> |
65 |
The freedom to use a program means the freedom for any kind of person |
66 |
or organization to use it on any kind of computer system, for any kind |
67 |
of overall job, and without being required to communicate subsequently |
68 |
with the developer or any other specific entity.</p> |
69 |
<p> |
70 |
The freedom to redistribute copies must include binary or executable |
71 |
forms of the program, as well as source code, for both modified and |
72 |
unmodified versions. (Distributing programs in runnable form is |
73 |
necessary for conveniently installable free operating systems.) It is |
74 |
ok if there is no way to produce a binary or executable form for a |
75 |
certain program (since some languages don't support that feature), but |
76 |
you must have the freedom to redistribute such forms should you find |
77 |
or develop a way to make them.</p> |
78 |
<p> |
79 |
In order for the freedoms to make changes, and to publish improved |
80 |
versions, to be meaningful, you must have access to the source code of |
81 |
the program. Therefore, accessibility of source code is a necessary |
82 |
condition for free software.</p> |
83 |
<p> |
84 |
In order for these freedoms to be real, they must be irrevocable as |
85 |
long as you do nothing wrong; if the developer of the software has the |
86 |
power to revoke the license, without your doing anything to give |
87 |
cause, the software is not free.</p> |
88 |
<p> |
89 |
However, certain kinds of rules about the manner of distributing free |
90 |
software are acceptable, when they don't conflict with the central |
91 |
freedoms. For example, copyleft (very simply stated) is the rule that |
92 |
when redistributing the program, you cannot add restrictions to deny |
93 |
other people the central freedoms. This rule does not conflict with |
94 |
the central freedoms; rather it protects them.</p> |
95 |
<p> |
96 |
Thus, you may have paid money to get copies of free software, or you |
97 |
may have obtained copies at no charge. But regardless of how you got |
98 |
your copies, you always have the freedom to copy and change the |
99 |
software, even to <a href="/philosophy/selling.html">sell copies</a>.</p> |
100 |
<p> |
101 |
``Free software'' does not mean ``non-commercial''. A free program |
102 |
must be available for commercial use, commercial development, and |
103 |
commercial distribution. Commercial development of free software is |
104 |
no longer unusual; such free commercial software is very important.</p> |
105 |
<p> |
106 |
Rules about how to package a modified version are acceptable, if they |
107 |
don't effectively block your freedom to release modified versions. |
108 |
Rules that ``if you make the program available in this way, you must |
109 |
make it available in that way also'' can be acceptable too, on the |
110 |
same condition. (Note that such a rule still leaves you the choice of |
111 |
whether to publish the program or not.) It is also acceptable for the |
112 |
license to require that, if you have distributed a modified version |
113 |
and a previous developer asks for a copy of it, you must send one.</p> |
114 |
<p> |
115 |
In the GNU project, we use <a href="/copyleft/copyleft.html">``copyleft''</a> |
116 |
to protect these freedoms legally for everyone. But |
117 |
<a href="/philosophy/categories.html#Non-CopyleftedFreeSoftware">non-copylefted |
118 |
free software</a> also exists. We believe there are |
119 |
important reasons why <a href="/philosophy/pragmatic.html"> it is |
120 |
better to use copyleft</a>, but if your program is non-copylefted free |
121 |
software, we can still use it.</p> |
122 |
<p> |
123 |
See <a href="/philosophy/categories.html">Categories of Free Software</a> |
124 |
for a description of how ``free software,'' ``copylefted software'' and |
125 |
other categories of software relate to each other.</p> |
126 |
<p> |
127 |
Sometimes government <a id="exportcontrol">export control |
128 |
regulations</a> and trade sanctions can constrain your freedom to |
129 |
distribute copies of programs internationally. Software developers do |
130 |
not have the power to eliminate or override these restrictions, but |
131 |
what they can and must do is refuse to impose them as conditions of |
132 |
use of the program. In this way, the restrictions will not affect |
133 |
activities and people outside the jurisdictions of these governments.</p> |
134 |
<p> |
135 |
Most free software licenses are based on copyright, and there are |
136 |
limits on what kinds of requirements can be imposed through copyright. |
137 |
If a copyright-based license respects freedom in the ways described |
138 |
above, it is unlikely to have some other sort of problem that we never |
139 |
anticipated (though this does happen occasionally). However, some |
140 |
free software licenses are based on contracts, and contracts can |
141 |
impose a much larger range of possible restrictions. That means there |
142 |
are many possible ways such a license could be unacceptably |
143 |
restrictive and non-free.</p> |
144 |
<p> |
145 |
We can't possibly list all the possible contract restrictions that |
146 |
would be unacceptable. If a contract-based license restricts the user |
147 |
in an unusual way that copyright-based licenses cannot, and which |
148 |
isn't mentioned here as legitimate, we will have to think about it, |
149 |
and we will probably decide it is non-free.</p> |
150 |
<p> |
151 |
When talking about free software, it is best to avoid using terms like |
152 |
``give away'' or ``for free'', because those terms imply that the |
153 |
issue is about price, not freedom. Some common terms such as |
154 |
``piracy'' embody opinions we hope you won't endorse. See |
155 |
<a href="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html">Confusing Words and Phrases |
156 |
that are Worth Avoiding</a> for a discussion of these terms. |
157 |
We also have a list of <a href="/philosophy/fs-translations.html">translations |
158 |
of "free software"</a> into various languages.</p> |
159 |
<p> |
160 |
Finally, note that criteria such as those stated in this free software |
161 |
definition require careful thought for their interpretation. To |
162 |
decide whether a specific software license qualifies as a free |
163 |
software license, we judge it based on these criteria to determine |
164 |
whether it fits their spirit as well as the precise words. If a |
165 |
license includes unconscionable restrictions, we reject it, even if we |
166 |
did not anticipate the issue in these criteria. Sometimes a license |
167 |
requirement raises an issue that calls for extensive thought, |
168 |
including discussions with a lawyer, before we can decide if the |
169 |
requirement is acceptable. When we reach a conclusion about a new |
170 |
issue, we often update these criteria to make it easier to see why |
171 |
certain licenses do or don't qualify.</p> |
172 |
<p> |
173 |
If you are interested in whether a specific license qualifies as a |
174 |
free software license, see our <a |
175 |
href="/licenses/license-list.html">list of licenses</a>. If the |
176 |
license you are concerned with is not listed there, you can ask us |
177 |
about it by sending us email at <a |
178 |
href="mailto:licensing@gnu.org"><licensing@gnu.org></a>.</p> <p> |
179 |
If you are contemplating writing a new license, please contact the FSF |
180 |
by writing to that address. The proliferation of different free |
181 |
software licenses means increased work for users in understanding the |
182 |
licenses; we may be able to help you find an existing Free Software |
183 |
license that meets your needs. |
184 |
</p> |
185 |
|
186 |
<p> |
187 |
If that isn't possible, if you really need a new license, with our |
188 |
help you can ensure that the license really is a Free Software license |
189 |
and avoid various practical problems. |
190 |
</p> |
191 |
<hr /> |
192 |
|
193 |
<p> |
194 |
Another group has started using the term "open source" to mean |
195 |
something close (but not identical) to "free software". We prefer the |
196 |
term "free software" because, once you have heard it refers to freedom |
197 |
rather than price, <a href="free-software-for-freedom.html">it calls |
198 |
to mind freedom</a>.</p> |
199 |
|
200 |
<hr /> |
201 |
<h4><a href="/philosophy/philosophy.html">Other Texts to Read</a></h4> |
202 |
|
203 |
|
204 |
<!-- All pages on the GNU web server should have the section about --> |
205 |
<!-- verbatim copying. Please do NOT remove this without talking --> |
206 |
<!-- with the webmasters first. --> |
207 |
<!-- Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the document --> |
208 |
<!-- and that it is like this "2001, 2002" not this "2001-2002." --> |
209 |
|
210 |
<div class="translations"> |
211 |
<p><a id="translations"></a> |
212 |
<b>Translations of this page</b>:<br /> |
213 |
|
214 |
<!-- Please keep this list alphabetical, and in the original --> |
215 |
<!-- language if possible, otherwise default to English --> |
216 |
<!-- If you do not have it English, please comment what the --> |
217 |
<!-- English is. If you add a new language here, please --> |
218 |
<!-- advise web-trans@gnu.org and add it to --> |
219 |
<!-- - in /home/www/bin/nightly-vars either TAGSLANG or WEBLANG --> |
220 |
<!-- - in /home/www/html/server/standards/README.translations.html --> |
221 |
<!-- one of the lists under the section "Translations Underway" --> |
222 |
<!-- - if there is a translation team, you also have to add an alias --> |
223 |
<!-- to mail.gnu.org:/com/mailer/aliases --> |
224 |
<!-- Please also check you have the 2 letter language code right versus --> |
225 |
<!-- http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/IG/ert/iso639.htm --> |
226 |
[ |
227 |
<a href="/philosophy/free-sw.cs.html">Česky</a> <!-- Czech --> |
228 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.da.html">Dansk</a> <!-- Danish --> |
229 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.de.html">Deutsch</a> <!-- German --> |
230 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.html">English</a> |
231 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.es.html">Español</a> <!-- Spanish --> |
232 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.fr.html">Français</a> <!-- French --> |
233 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.gl.html">Galego</a> <!-- Galician --> |
234 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.he.html">עברית</a> <!-- Hebrew --> |
235 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.hr.html">Hrvatski</a> <!-- Croatian --> |
236 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.id.html">Bahasa Indonesia</a> <!-- Indonesian --> |
237 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.it.html">Italiano</a> <!-- Italian --> |
238 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.ja.html">日本語</a> <!-- Japanese --> |
239 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.ko.html">한국어</a> <!-- Korean --> |
240 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.hu.html">Magyar</a> <!-- Hungarian --> |
241 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.nl.html">Nederlands</a> <!-- Dutch --> |
242 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.no.html">Norsk</a> <!-- Norwegian --> |
243 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.pl.html">Polski</a> <!-- Polish --> |
244 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.pt.html">Português</a> <!-- Portuguese --> |
245 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.ro.html">Românã</a> <!-- Romanian --> |
246 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.ru.html">Русский</a> <!-- Russian --> |
247 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.sl.html">Slovinsko</a> <!--- Slovenian --> |
248 |
| <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.tr.html">Türkçe</a> <!-- Turkish --> |
249 |
] |
250 |
</p> |
251 |
</div> |
252 |
|
253 |
<div class="copyright"> |
254 |
<p> |
255 |
Return to the <a href="/home.html">GNU Project home page</a>. |
256 |
</p> |
257 |
|
258 |
<p> |
259 |
Please send FSF & GNU inquiries to |
260 |
<a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><em>gnu@gnu.org</em></a>. |
261 |
There are also <a href="/home.html#ContactInfo">other ways to contact</a> |
262 |
the FSF. |
263 |
<br /> |
264 |
Please send broken links and other corrections (or suggestions) to |
265 |
<a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><em>webmasters@gnu.org</em></a>. |
266 |
</p> |
267 |
|
268 |
<p> |
269 |
Please see the |
270 |
<a href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations |
271 |
README</a> for information on coordinating and submitting |
272 |
translations of this article. |
273 |
</p> |
274 |
|
275 |
<p> |
276 |
Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Free |
277 |
Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA |
278 |
02111, USA |
279 |
<br /> |
280 |
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is |
281 |
permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is |
282 |
preserved. |
283 |
</p> |
284 |
|
285 |
<p> |
286 |
Updated: |
287 |
<!-- timestamp start --> |
288 |
$Date: 2004/07/22 06:09:01 $ $Author: derekgnu $ |
289 |
<!-- timestamp end --> |
290 |
</p> |
291 |
</div> |
292 |
|
293 |
</body> |
294 |
</html> |