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Free Software Foundation
Also known as: FSF
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Free and open-source software - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 20 facts
claimThe Free Software Foundation (FSF) was established in 1985 to support the mission of the GNU Project.
claimThe Free Software Foundation (FSF) defines free software as a matter of liberty rather than price, a definition adopted from Richard Stallman's work.
claimThe Free Software Foundation (FSF) released version 3 of the GNU General Public License (GPL) on June 29, 2007.
claimThe two predominant strains of FOSS (Free and Open-Source Software) licenses are those that comply with the Open Source Initiative's 'Open Source Definition' and those that comply with the Free Software Foundation's 'Free Software Definition'.
perspectiveBruce Perens stated that he felt Eric Raymond's promotion of open-source unfairly overshadowed the Free Software Foundation's efforts and reaffirmed his support for free software.
referenceJoe Barr wrote an article titled 'Why "Free Software" is better than "Open Source"' for the Free Software Foundation in 1998.
perspectiveRichard Stallman argues that the 'Open Source' movement misses the point of 'Free Software' in an essay published by the Free Software Foundation.
claimThe earliest known publication of Richard Stallman's free software definition appeared in the February 1986 edition of the Free Software Foundation's 'GNU's Bulletin' publication.
claimThe GNU General Public License (GPL) is one of the most widely used copyleft licenses in the free and open-source software (FOSS) community and was created by the Free Software Foundation (FSF).
accountFollowing the 2007 release of the GNU General Public License version 3 (GPLv3), the Free Software Foundation updated many of the GNU programs' licenses from GPLv2 to GPLv3.
referenceThe Free Software Foundation (FSF) defines the 'Four Essential Freedoms' of free software as: (0) The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose; (1) The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish (access to source code is a precondition); (2) The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help others; (3) The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (access to source code is a precondition).
claimThe Free Software Foundation released version 3 of the GNU General Public License (GNU GPLv3) in 2007 to explicitly address legal issues related to patents and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
claimThe term 'FOSS' (Free and Open-Source Software) was created to serve as a neutral, unified term for both Free Software and Open Source concepts, aiming to bridge philosophical disagreements between the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and the Open Source Initiative (OSI).
claimBruce Perens did not base his writing of the Debian Free Software Guidelines on the Free Software Foundation's 'Four Essential Freedoms' because those freedoms were not yet available on the web at that time.
claimSoftware licensed under FOSS licenses is considered part of the public domain because these licenses meet the requirements of either the Open Source Initiative or the Free Software Foundation, which are criteria for neutral voluntary licenses.
claimThe list of 'open source' licenses maintained by the Open Source Initiative and the list of 'free' software licenses maintained by the Free Software Foundation are collectively referred to as FOSS (free and open-source software) licenses.
claimThe Free Software Foundation advocates for the free software model and suggests that users should think of 'free' as in 'free speech', not as in 'free beer'.
claimThe term 'Free and Open Source Software' encompasses both Free Software as defined by the Free Software Foundation and Open Source Software as defined by the Open Source Initiative.
quoteLinus Torvalds stated: "In some ways, Linux was the project that really made the split clear between what the FSF is pushing which is very different from what open source and Linux has always been about, which is more of a technical superiority instead of a -- this religious belief in freedom. So, the GPL Version 3 reflects the FSF's goals and the GPL Version 2 pretty closely matches what I think a license should do and so right now, Version 2 is where the kernel is."
measurementAs of August 2017, the Free Software Foundation's definition of free software is published in 40 languages on the GNU Project website.
Open-source license - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 10 facts
claimWhile there are occasional edge cases where only one of the FSF or the OSI accepts a specific license, popular free-software licenses, including the General Public License (GPL), are considered open source.
accountAn early version of copyleft licensing was utilized for the 1985 release of GNU Emacs, and the term later became associated with the Free Software Foundation's reciprocal licenses, specifically the GNU General Public License (GPL).
claimBoth the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and the Open Source Initiative (OSI) require that covered works be made available with source code and with permission for modification and redistribution.
accountDuring the 1980s, Richard Stallman initiated the GNU Project to create a free operating system, authored essays on freedom, established the Free Software Foundation, and wrote several free-software licenses.
claimThe Free Software Foundation utilizes intellectual property laws to provide freedoms to software recipients rather than imposing restrictions.
claimUnder the bare license interpretation, which is advocated by the Free Software Foundation (FSF), a case is brought to court by the copyright holder as a claim of copyright infringement.
claimThe Free Software Foundation, the Open Source Initiative, and the Debian project are historically recognized as the primary authorities for determining whether a license qualifies as free and open-source software.
claimNon-profit organizations like the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and the Software Freedom Conservancy offer to hold the rights to developers' projects to enforce compliance.
claimThe Free Software Foundation maintains the Free Software Definition, which serves as a rival set of criteria to the Open Source Definition.
claimThe Free Software Foundation (FSF) created the Lesser General Public License (LGPL) specifically for software libraries.
Open-source software - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 8 facts
claimVarious organizations globally support open-source software, including the Free Software Foundation, Software Freedom Conservancy, the Open Source Initiative, and Software in the Public Interest in the United States; Free Software Foundation Europe, open-source projects EU (OSP), and OpenForum Europe (OFE) in Europe; Linux Australia in Australia; Open source Asia and FOSSAsia in Asia; Free and open source software for Africa (FOSSFA) and OpenAfrica in Africa; and FLISOL and GRUP de usuarios de software libre Peru in Central and South Asia.
claimThe Free Software Foundation considers free software to be a subset of open-source software, and Richard Stallman notes that DRM software can be developed as open source while failing to qualify as free software because it restricts user freedom.
claimThe Free Software Foundation considers free software to be a subset of open-source software, noting that software like DRM-restricted software can be developed as open source but does not qualify as free software.
perspectiveRichard Stallman, leader of the Free software movement and member of the Free Software Foundation, opposes applying the term 'open source' to what he refers to as 'free software,' considering the equation of the two terms incorrect and misleading.
perspectiveRichard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation (FSF) opposes the term 'Open Source' being applied to what the FSF refers to as 'free software', despite initially accepting the term.
perspectiveRichard Stallman opposes the pragmatism of the Open Source Initiative because he fears that the Free Software Foundation's idealistic standards for software freedom are threatened by compromising on those ideals.
perspectiveRichard Stallman opposes the pragmatism of the Open Source Initiative because he fears that compromising on the Free Software Foundation's idealistic standards for software freedom threatens the ideals of freedom and community.
claimThe Free Software Foundation argues that the term 'open source' fosters ambiguity by confusing the mere availability of source code with the freedom to use, modify, and redistribute it.
Open-source hardware - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia smoothieware.github.io Apr 15, 2016 6 facts
procedureTo receive the 'Respects Your Freedom' certification from the Free Software Foundation, a seller must use FSF-approved terminology in all product-related publications, including packaging, manuals, web pages, and marketing materials. Specifically, the seller must use the term 'GNU/Linux' for any operating system including GNU and Linux, and must discuss 'free software' more prominently than 'open source'.
claimThe Free Software Foundation started the "Respects Your Freedom" (RYF) computer hardware product certification program in 2012.
perspectiveThe Free Software Foundation's 'Respects Your Freedom' (RYF) certificate faced criticism for requiring compliance with controversial FSF terminology, which some critics view as an unrelated topic and unnecessary political polarization for a technological certificate.
claimThe Free Software Foundation's Replicant project suggested an alternative 'free hardware' definition in 2016, which was derived from the Free Software Foundation's four freedoms.
claimOpenhardware.org, led by Bruce Perens, promoted and identified practices that met the combined requirements of the Open Source Hardware Definition, the Open Source Definition, and the Four Freedoms of the Free Software Foundation.
claimThe Free Software Foundation (FSF) maintains a 'Respects Your Freedom' hardware product certification program.
The Open Source Definition - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 3 facts
accountBruce Perens stated that when he had to write license guidelines for the Debian project, the 'Four Freedoms' document (associated with the Free Software Foundation) was unknown to him.
claimThe Open Source Definition and the official definitions of free software by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) essentially cover the same set of software licenses.
referenceThe Free Software Foundation published the Free Software Definition, which defined the three freedoms of Free Software, as early as 1986 in the first edition of the GNU's Bulletin.
Open-source hardware - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 2 facts
perspectiveRichard Stallman argued for the necessity of free digital hardware designs in his 2015 article 'Why We Need Free Digital Hardware Designs' published in Wired and his 2015 paper 'Free Hardware and Free Hardware Designs' published by the Free Software Foundation.
claimThe Free Software Foundation has proposed an alternative "free hardware" definition derived from the Four Freedoms.
What is OSS? - CircleCI circleci.com Jun 10, 2024 2 facts
referenceThe General Public License (GPL) is a license exclusively for the GNU project created by Richard Stallman and managed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF). Under the GPL, copyright notices cannot be removed, and derived programs must be published under the GPL.
claimThe GNU General Public License, created by the Free Software Foundation, is the most famous copyleft license.
What Is Open Source Software? - IBM ibm.com 2 facts
claimNonprofit organizations such as the Free Software Foundation and the Open Source Initiative (OCI) support and fund the ongoing maintenance of open source projects.
accountRichard Stallman founded the Free Software Foundation and led the development of an open source alternative to the AT&T-owned Unix operating system.
Exploring Open-Source Software Ecosystems for Hardware ... link.springer.com May 1, 2024 1 fact
claimThe Open Source Hardware (OSH) movement was inspired by the Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) movement, which is generally traced back to the Free Software Foundation (FSF), the GNU Operating System, MINIX, and the Linux kernel.
What is open source software? oss-watch.ac.uk May 1, 2005 1 fact
claimThe Free Software Foundation uses the term "free software," which predates "open source software" and emphasizes ethical freedoms associated with the software.
Open Hardware Licenses - P2P Foundation Wiki wiki.p2pfoundation.net Jun 17, 2015 1 fact
referenceThe Free Software Foundation (FSF) states in their GPL FAQ that while the GPLv3 can be used to license copyrightable material like hardware drawings or semiconductor masks, it does not impose license obligations on someone who uses that information to create, distribute, or sell physical hardware, as that falls outside the scope of copyright law.
What is Open Source Software? - HotWax Systems hotwaxsystems.com Aug 11, 2025 1 fact
accountRichard Stallman founded the Free Software Foundation (FSF) in 1985, which was built around four essential freedoms: to run, study, modify, and share software without restriction.
Open Source Hardware, How Open Do You Want It To Be? | Hackaday hackaday.com Mar 7, 2025 1 fact
quote1.8 'Complete Source' means the set of all Source necessary to Make a Product, in the preferred form for making modifications, including necessary installation and interfacing information both for the Product, and for any included Available Components. If the format is proprietary, it must also be made available in a format (if the proprietary tool can create it) which is viewable with a tool available to potential licensees and licensed under a licence approved by the Free Software Foundation or the Open Source Initiative. Complete Source need not include the Source of any Available Component, provided that You include in the Complete Source sufficient information to enable a recipient to Make or source and use the Available Component to Make the Product.