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<title>Essays and Articles
- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
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<h2>Essays and Articles</h2>
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<p>This page lists a series of articles describing the philosophy of the
free software movement, which is the motivation for our development of
the free software operating system GNU.</p>
<p>
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<a id="TOCFreedomOrganizations">We</a>
<a id="FreedomOrganizations">also</a>
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keep a list of
<a href="/links/links.html#FreedomOrganizations">Organizations
that Work for Freedom in
Computer Development and Electronic Communications</a>.</p>
<h3 id="aboutfs">About Free Software</h3>
<p>
Free software is a matter of freedom: people should be free to use
software in all the ways that are socially useful. Software differs
from material objects—such as chairs, sandwiches, and
gasoline—in that it can be copied and changed much more easily.
These possibilities make software as useful as it is; we believe
software users should be able to make use of them.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="/philosophy/free-sw.html">What is Free Software?</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/why-free.html">Why
Software Should Not Have Owners</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/shouldbefree.html">Why
Software Should Be Free</a> (This is an older and longer
essay about the same topic as the previous one)</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/free-doc.html">Why Free Software Needs
Free Documentation</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/selling.html">Selling Free Software</a> is OK!</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/categories.html">Categories of Free and
Non-Free Software</a></li>
<li><a href="/software/reliability.html">Free Software is More Reliable!</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/when_free_software_isnt_practically_better.html">When Free Software Isn't (Practically) Better</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html">Why
“Open Source” misses the point of Free Software</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/linux-gnu-freedom.html">Linux, GNU, and
Freedom</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/gnutella.html"
id="Gnutella">Regarding Gnutella</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/schools.html">Why Schools Should Use
Exclusively Free Software</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/my_doom.html">MyDoom and You</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/15-years-of-free-software.html">15 Years of Free Software</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/free-software-intro.html">Free Software movement</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/your-freedom-needs-free-software.html">Your Freedom Needs Free Software</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/fs-motives.html">Motives For Writing Free Software</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/gov-promote.html">How Should Governments Promote Free Software?</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="aboutgnu">About the GNU Operating System</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="/gnu/initial-announcement.html">Initial announcement of
the GNU Operating System</a></li>
<li><a href="/gnu/manifesto.html">The GNU Manifesto</a></li>
<li><a href="/gnu/gnu-history.html">Brief history of the GNU Project</a></li>
<li><a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.html">The GNU Project</a>,
a longer and more complete description of the project and its
history.</li>
<li><a href="/fsf/fsf.html">What is the Free Software Foundation?</a></li>
<li><a href="/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html">Why GNU/Linux?</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="LicensingFreeSoftware">Licensing Free Software</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="/licenses/licenses.html">General information on licensing and copyleft</a></li>
<li><a href="/licenses/license-list.html">A list of specific free software licenses</a></li>
<li><a href="/licenses/gpl-faq.html">Frequently Asked Questions About the GNU Licenses</a></li>
<li><a href="/licenses/why-not-lgpl.html">Why You Shouldn't Use the Lesser GPL for Your Next Library</a></li>
<li><a href="/copyleft/copyleft.html">Copyleft</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/why-copyleft.html">Why Copyleft?</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/university.html">Releasing Free Software if You Work at a University</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/pragmatic.html">Copyleft: Pragmatic Idealism</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/javascript-trap.html">Javascript Trap</a> — You may be running non-free programs on your computer every day without realizing it — through your web browser.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/vaccination.html">Viral Code and
Vaccination</a>, an article by Robert J. Chassell</li>
<li><a href="http://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/20050211.html">Censorship envy and licensing</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/x.html">The X Window System Trap</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/apsl.html">The Problems of the Apple License</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/bsd.html">The BSD License Problem</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/netscape-npl.html">The Netscape Public License Has Serious Problems</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/udi.html">The Free Software Movement and UDI</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/gates.html">It's not the Gates, it's the
bars</a>, an article by Richard Stallman published in BBC News in
2008</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/microsoft.html">Is Microsoft the Great
Satan?</a> (An <a href="/philosophy/microsoft-old.html">older
version</a> of this article is also available.)</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/microsoft-antitrust.html">The Microsoft Antitrust Trial and Free Software</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/microsoft-verdict.html">On the Microsoft Verdict</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/microsoft-new-monopoly.html">Microsoft's New Monopoly</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/lest-codeplex-perplex.html">Lest CodePlex
perplex</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/plan-nine.html" id="PlanNineLicense">The Problems of the Plan 9 License</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/motif.html" id="MotifLicense">The New Motif License</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/using-gfdl.html" id="UsingGFDL">Using the GNU FDL</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/gpl-american-way.html" id="GPLAmericanWay">The GNU GPL and the American Way</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/gpl-american-dream.html" id="GPLAmericanDream">The GNU GPL and the American Dream</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/enforcing-gpl.html" id="EnforcingGPL">Enforcing the GNU GPL</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/selling-exceptions.html">On Selling
Exceptions to the GNU GPL</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/freedom-or-power.html" id="FreedomOrPower">Freedom or Power?</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html" id="NoWordAttachments">We Can Put an End to Word Attachments</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/java-trap.html" id="JavaTrap">Free But
Shackled - The Java Trap</a> (Although Sun
has <a href="http://www.fsf.org/news/fsf-welcomes-gpl-java.html">
relicensed</a> most of its Java platform reference implementation
under the GNU General Public License, the issue described in this
article still remains important)</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/fighting-software-patents.html" id="FightingSoftwarePatents">Fighting Software Patents - Singly and Together</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/software-literary-patents.html" id="SoftwareLiteraryPatents">
Software Patents and Literary Patents</a>, by Richard M. Stallman,
speaking of patenting artistic techniques, US patent (6,935,954)
covers making game characters start to hallucinate when (according to
the game) they are being driven insane. That is getting pretty close
to the hypothetical examples cited in this article.
</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/rtlinux-patent.html">GPL-compliant version
of RTLinux Open Patent License in Works</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="Laws">Laws and Issues</h3>
<h4 id="copyright">Copyright</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="/philosophy/public-domain-manifesto.html">Why I Will Not Sign
the Public Domain Manifesto</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/pirate-party.html">How the Swedish Pirate Party
Platform Backfires on Free Software</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/misinterpreting-copyright.html">Misinterpreting
Copyright</a> is another essay
by <a href="http://www.stallman.org">Richard Stallman</a> about the
flaws in popular defenses of copyright law.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/eldred-amicus.html">FSF's Brief Amicus
Curiae in the Eldred v. Ashcroft Supreme Court case</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/push-copyright-aside.html">Science must
“push copyright aside”</a>, another work of <a
href="http://www.stallman.org">Richard Stallman</a> that appeared in
the <a
href="http://www.nature.com/nature/debates/e-access/Articles/stallman.html">
Nature Webdebates</a> in 2001, explains how copyright is impeding
progress in scientific research. You may also be interested in <a
href="http://www.publiclibraryofscience.org">The Public Library of
Science</a>, which is dedicated to making scientific research freely
available to all on the Internet.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/reevaluating-copyright.html">Reevaluating
Copyright: The Public must prevail</a></li>
<li><a href="http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/openlaw/eldredvashcroft/cyber/complaint_orig.html">
Eldred v. Reno</a> is about a lawsuit to overturn a law that extends
copyright by 20 extra years.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/freedom-or-copyright.html">Freedom-Or
Copyright?</a>, by <a href="http://www.stallman.org/">Richard
Stallman</a> (an <a
href="/philosophy/freedom-or-copyright-old.html">older version</a> of
this essay remains online as well).</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/copyright-versus-community.html"
id="StallmanTalkLSM"> Copyright versus community in the age of
computer networks</a>: is a transcript of a keynote by
<a href="http://www.stallman.org"> Richard Stallman</a> at
the LIANZA conference in Christchurch, New Zealand, on October 12,
2009.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/resources/feedback/OIIFB_GPL2_20040903.pdf">
An English translation</a> of the famous decision of the District
Court of Munich (Germany) regarding the enforceability and validity
of the GPL. The translation was done by the Oxford Internet
Institute.</li>
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<li><a href="http://www.humaninfo.org/copyrigh.htm">Examples of
Excellent Copyright Policies</a></li>
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<li><a href="/philosophy/is-ever-good-use-nonfree-program.html">
Is It Ever a Good Thing to Use a Nonfree Program?</a> By
<a href="http://www.stallman.org"> Richard Stallman</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="drm">Digital Restrictions Management</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="/philosophy/correcting-france-mistake.html">Correcting My Mistake about French Law</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/the-root-of-this-problem.html">The problem is
software controlled by its developer</a>, by
Richard M. Stallman.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/computing-progress.html">Computing
“progress”: good and bad</a>, by Richard M. Stallman.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/why-audio-format-matters.html">Why Audio
Format matters</a> by Karl Fogel</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/opposing-drm.html">Opposing Digital Rights
Mismanagement</a>, by Richard M. Stallman, answers a few common
questions about DRM.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/ebooks.html">Ebooks: Freedom Or
Copyright</a> a slightly modified version of the article, originally
published in Technology Review in 2000,
by <a href="http://www.stallman.org"> Richard Stallman</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/ebooks-must-increase-freedom.html">
Ebooks must increase our freedom, not decrease it</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/can-you-trust.html">Can you trust your
computer?</a>, a work by <a href="http://www.stallman.org">Richard
Stallman</a> about the so-called “trusted computing”
initiatives.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/right-to-read.html">The Right to Read: A
Dystopian Short Story</a> by <a href="http://www.stallman.org/">
Richard Stallman</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="noip">The propaganda
term <a href="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#IntellectualProperty">
“Intellectual Property”</a></h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="/philosophy/no-ip-ethos.html">Don't Let
“Intellectual Property” Twist Your Ethos</a>, by
Richard M. Stallman.</li>
<li>Comments from Richard Stallman
on <a href="/philosophy/ipjustice.html">the ICLC's rejection of the
IP Enforcement Directive</a></li>
<li>Richard Stallman has
written <a href="/philosophy/boldrin-levine.html">a review of
Boldrin and Levine's “The case against intellectual
property.”</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/not-ipr.html">Did You Say
“Intellectual Property”? It's a Seductive Mirage</a>.
An essay on the true meaning of the phrase “Intellectual
Property”, by Richard M. Stallman</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="patents">Patents</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="/philosophy/limit-patent-effect.html">Giving the Software
Field Protection from Patents</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/w3c-patent.html">FSF's Position on W3
Consortium “Royalty-Free” Patent Policy</a>
rewritten</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/guardian-article.html">Opposing The European
Software Patent Directive</a>, a slightly modified version of the
article, originally published in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">
The Guardian</a> of London by <a href="http://www.stallman.org">Richard
Stallman</a> and Nick Hill.</li>
<li>How to Protect the <a href="/philosophy/protecting.html">Right
to Write Software</a> (independent of whether it's free or not)</li>
<li>In <a href="https://www.eff.org/press/releases/princeton-scientists-sue-over-squelched-research">
Felten v. RIAA</a>, scientists are asking a court to rule that the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) does not prohibit them from
publishing their research.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.eff.org/search/site/dvd cases/">EFF
“Intellectual Property”: MPAA (Motion Picture Association of
America) DVD Cases Archive</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/patent-reform-is-not-enough.html">Patent
Reform Is Not Enough</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/savingeurope.html">Saving Europe from
Software Patents</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/amazon.html">Boycott Amazon!</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.researchoninnovation.org/patent.pdf"
id="SequentialIPandI">Sequential Innovation, Patents, and
Imitation</a> is a paper that presents a mathematical model showing
how patents can impede progress in fields like software.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/hague.html">Harm from the Hague</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://technology.guardian.co.uk/online/comment/story/0,12449,1540984,00.html">
Soft sell</a>. An article by Richard M. Stallman published in
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">The Guardian</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2005/jun/23/onlinesupplement.insideit">
Patent absurdity</a>, an article by Richard M. Stallman published in
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">The Guardian</a>.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/trivial-patent.html">The Anatomy of a
Trivial Patent</a>, by Richard M. Stallman.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/gif.html">Why there are no GIF files on GNU web pages</a>, While this
story is a historical illustration of the danger of software patents, these particular
patents are now no longer a concern. For details of our website <a href="/server/fsf-html-style-sheet.html#UseofGraphics">policies regarding GIFs</a>, see our web <a href="/server/standards/">web guidelines</a>.</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="ns">Network Services</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="/philosophy/network-services-arent-free-or-nonfree.html">Network
Services Aren't Free or Nonfree; They Raise Other Issues</a> an
article by Richard Stallman.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html">Who
does that server really serve?</a> by Richard Stallman published
in <a href="http://www.bostonreview.net/richard-stallman-free-software-DRM">Boston
Review.</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="cultural">Cultural and Social Issues</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html">How Much
Surveillance Can Democracy Withstand?</a> by Richard Stallman</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/nonfree-games.html">Nonfree DRM'd Games on
GNU/Linux: Good or Bad?</a> by Richard Stallman</li>
<li> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/apr/06/digital-economy-bill-richard-stallman">Digital economy bill: One clown giveth and
the other clown taketh away</a> by
<a href="http://www.stallman.org">Richard Stallman</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/digital-inclusion-in-freedom.html">Is Digital Inclusion A Good Thing? How Can We Make Sure It Is?</a> by
<a href="http://www.stallman.org">Richard Stallman</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/wsis.html">World Summit on the Information
Society</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/lessig-fsfs-intro.html">The introduction by
Lawrence Lessig</a>
to <a href="http://shop.fsf.org/product/free-software-free-society/"><i>Free
Software, Free Society: The Selected Essays of Richard
M. Stallman</i></a> is available for reading.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/wassenaar.html">Encryption software
volunteers needed in countries without export control</a>.</li>
<li>How to Protect the <a href="/philosophy/basic-freedoms.html">
Freedoms of Speech, Press, and Association</a> on the Internet</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/privacyaction.html">Protect Postal
Privacy</a>, a campaign to resist the proposed rule by the United
States Postal Service to collect private information from
customers.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/ucita.html">Why We Must Fight UCITA</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/second-sight.html">Free Software and
(e-)Government</a> — an article from The Guardian, by Richard
Stallman (originally published under the title “Second
Sight”).</li>
<li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20070806183422/http://www.insnet.org/ins_headlines.rxml?cust=212&id=967">
Free Software and Sustainable Development</a> — A short
article by Richard Stallman regarding the use of proprietary
software in cultural development.</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="misc">Misc</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="/philosophy/proprietary-surveillance.html">Clearly href="/philosophy/proprietary.html">Clearly established
cases of proprietary software that spies on or tracks does nasty things to the
users</a>.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/bug-nobody-allowed-to-understand.html">The
Bug Nobody is Allowed to Understand</a>, By Richard Stallman.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/sun-in-night-time.html">The Curious
Incident of Sun in the Night-Time</a>, by Richard M. Stallman.</li>
<li><a href="http://counterpunch.org/baker08192004.html">Why We Need
“Free Software” Voting Machines</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/sco/sco-gnu-linux.html">SCO, GNU, and
Linux</a>, by Richard Stallman, discusses how SCO's lawsuit against
IBM pertains to the work of the GNU project. Please see
the <a href="/philosophy/sco/sco.html">FSF SCO Response Page</a> for
more details on this subject.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/ms-doj-tunney.html">FSF's Statement in
Response to Proposed Revised Final Judgment in Microsoft vs. United
States, submitted to the US Department of Justice under the Tunney
Act</a>.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/new-monopoly.html">U.S. Congress Threatens
to Establish a New Kind of Monopoly</a>, an attempt of the Congress
to create a private monopoly over repeating publicly known
information.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/dat.html">The Right Way to Tax DAT</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/censoring-emacs.html">Censoring My
Software</a>, by <a href="http://www.stallman.org">Richard
Stallman</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/funding-art-vs-funding-software.html">Funding
Art vs Funding Software</a>, by <a href="http://www.stallman.org">Richard
Stallman</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="terminology">Terminology and Definitions</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html">Confusing Words</a>
which You Might Want to Avoid</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html">Why
“Open Source” misses the point of Free Software</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html">“Open
Source Software” or “Free Software”?</a>
(This is an older essay about the same topic as the previous one.)</li>
<li>Richard Stallman wrote <a href="/philosophy/drdobbs-letter.html">letter to the editor</a> of
Dr. Dobb's Journal in June which further explains the distinction
between the Free Software and Open Source movements.</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/categories.html">Categories of Free and
Non-Free Software</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/fs-translations.html">Translations of the
term “free software”</a> into various languages</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/why-call-it-the-swindle.html">Why call it the
Swindle</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="upholding">Upholding Software Freedom</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="/philosophy/use-free-software.html">The Free Software Community After 20 Years</a>,
With great but incomplete success, what now?</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/mcvoy.html">Thank You, Larry McVoy</a> by Richard M. Stallman</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/social-inertia.html">Overcoming Social
Inertia</a>, by Richard M. Stallman</li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/compromise.html">Avoiding Ruinous Compromises</a></li>
<li><a href="/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html">
Free Software Is Even More Important Now</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Philosophical humor</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="/fun/humor.html#Philosophy">Philosophy Humor</a>.
We don't have to be serious <i>all</i> the time.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Links to more philosophy articles</h3>
<ul>
<li id="Speeches"><a href="/philosophy/speeches-and-interview.html">Speeches and
interviews</a></li>
<li id="ThirdPartyIdeas"><a href="/philosophy/third-party-ideas.html">Third party
ideas</a></li>
<li id="Philosophy"><a href="/philosophy/">The main philosophy page</a></li>
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