FSF Licensing & Compliance Team — Free Software Foundation

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} #fsf-modal-window-elem-buttons a { width: 100%; display: block; text-align: center; font-size: 35px; color: #fff; /* Text */ text-decoration: none; font-family: sans-serif,"Helvetica",Arial; font-weight: normal; } #fsf-modal-window-elem-maybe-later { margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: -5px; } #fsf-modal-window-elem-maybe-later a { color: #367c93; /* Text */ line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; font-weight: normal; font-family: sans-serif,"Helvetica",Arial; font-size: 16px; } #fsf-modal-window-elem-text a { color: #fdd538; /* Text */ font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; } #fsf-modal-window-elem-text p { font-family: sans-serif,"Helvetica",Arial; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 0px; line-height: 20px; color: #fff; /* Text */ } </style> <div id="fsf-modal-window-elem-container" style="display: none;"> <div id="fsf-modal-window-elem-outer-v-center"> <div id="fsf-modal-window-elem-inner-v-center"> <div id="fsf-modal-window-elem"> <div id="fsf-modal-window-elem-header"> <div id="fsf-modal-window-elem-close-button" onclick="//fsfModalWindowElemDontShowForAWhile();"> <i class="fa fa-close"></i> </div> <h2>Technological freedom is important more than ever!</h2> </div> <div id="fsf-modal-window-elem-left-column"> <div id="fsf-modal-window-elem-text"> <p> Please take thirty seconds to read this: free software makes up the building blocks to anything. You can use it to tailor programs that work for you, combine things as you wish, and share these building blocks with others. This is why the FSF has published and promoted free software licenses since 1985, sponsors the GNU System, and tirelessly campaigns for free software adoption. </p> <p> Powered by member dues and donations, the FSF can only continue to be the cornerstone of a more just digital society with your support. Build a better world with us by matching the average donation of USD $46.22. </p> <p><span id="fsf-modal-window-text-link"><a href="https://my.fsf.org/donate?mtm_campaign=fall24&mtm_source=modal">Donate</a> | <a href="https://www.fsf.org/appeal?mtm_campaign=fall24&mtm_source=modal">Read more</a></span></p> </div> </div> <div id="fsf-modal-window-elem-right-column">  <div id="fsf-modal-window-elem-buttons" style="border-radius: 20px;box-shadow: 5px 0 5px -6px #0c2b2b, -5px 0 5px -6px #0c2b2b;"> <div class="join" style="background-color:#3498DB; border-top-right-radius: 20px; border-top-left-radius: 20px;"> <a style="color:#fdd538;text-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #2670a1;" href="https://my.fsf.org/join?mtm_campaign=fall24&mtm_source=modal" onclick="//fsfModalWindowElemFollowedLink();"> <i class="fa fa-check-circle"> </i>Join </a> </div> <div class="renew" style="background-color:#2ecc71;"> <a style="color: #FFF;text-shadow: 0px 0px 8px #219452;" href="https://my.fsf.org/renew?mtm_campaign=fall24&mtm_source=modal" onclick="//fsfModalWindowElemFollowedLink();"> <i class="fa fa-refresh"> </i>Renew </a> </div> <div class="donate" style="background-color:#1abc9c; border-bottom-right-radius: 20px; border-bottom-left-radius: 20px; margin-bottom: 2px"> <a style="text-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #138c74;" href="https://my.fsf.org/donate?mtm_campaign=fall24&mtm_source=modal" onclick="//fsfModalWindowElemFollowedLink();"> <i class="fa fa-money"> </i>Donate </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <script> // @license magnet:?xt=urn:btih:1f739d935676111cfff4b4693e3816e664797050&dn=gpl-3.0.txt GPL-3.0 // Licensed GPL-3.0-or-later by Andrew Engelbrecht. var startTime, endTime, switchTextTime; startTime = new Date('2024-06-08T04:00:00Z'); switchTextTime = new Date('2024-07-30T04:00:00Z'); // Turning this off for now. // endTime is unused. // endTime = new Date('2024-07-29T04:00:00Z'); // Possibly switch the text that is displayed in the modal window, depending // upon the current date. function fsfModalWindowElemMaybeSwitchText () { var now; now = new Date(); if (now.getTime() < switchTextTime.getTime()) { return; // Do not switch the text. } // Switch text document.getElementById("fsf-modal-window-elem-text").innerHTML =' \ \ <p>Please take thirty seconds to read this: free software makes up the building blocks to anything. You can use it to tailor programs that work for you, combine things as you wish, and share these building blocks with others. This is why the FSF has published and promoted free software licenses since 1985, sponsors the GNU System, and tirelessly campaigns for free software adoption.<\/p> \ \ <p>Powered by member dues and donations, the FSF can only continue to be the cornerstone of a more just digital society with your support. Build a better world with us by matching the average donation of USD \$46.22.<\/p> \ \ <p><span id="fsf-modal-window-text-link"><a href="https://my.fsf.org/donate?mtm_campaign=fall24&mtm_source=modal">Donate<\/a> | <a href="https://www.fsf.org/appeal?mtm_campaign=fall24&mtm_source=modal">Read more<\/a><\/span><\/p>'; } // Show fsf-modal-window-elem if it has not been previously closed by the user, // nor recently hit "maybe later", and the campaign is still happening. function fsfModalWindowElemMaybeShow () { var pattern, noShowFsfModalWindowElementP, now; // See if cookie says not to show element pattern = /showFsf202406FundraiserModalWindowElementP\s*=\s*false/; noShowFsfModalWindowElementP = pattern.test(document.cookie); // Uncomment here to enable modal window hiding if (!noShowFsfModalWindowElementP) { setTimeout(function () { // display the element document.getElementById("fsf-modal-window-elem-container").style.display="block"; }, 0); } } // Call this first to set the proper text. fsfModalWindowElemMaybeSwitchText(); // Check if appeal is the url. if (window.location.href.indexOf("appeal") == -1) { // Call this right away to avoid flicker. fsfModalWindowElemMaybeShow(); } // Get the time `plusDays` in the future. // This can be a fraction. function daysInFuture (plusDays) { var now, future; now = new Date(); future = new Date(now.getTime() + Math.floor(1000 * 60 * 60 * 24 * plusDays)); return future.toGMTString(); } // Hide the fsf-modal-window-elem function fsfModalWindowElemHide () { document.getElementById("fsf-modal-window-elem-container").style.display="none"; } // Optionally hide elem and set a cookie to keep the fsf-modal-window-elem hidden for the next `forDays`. function fsfModalWindowElemDontShowForDays (forDays, hideNow) { if (hideNow === true) { fsfModalWindowElemHide(); } document.cookie = "showFsf202406FundraiserModalWindowElementP=false; path=/; SameSite=Strict; Secure; expires=" + daysInFuture(forDays); } // Hide the element for one week after closing it. function fsfModalWindowElemDontShowForAWhile () { fsfModalWindowElemDontShowForDays(7, true); } // Keep the element visible for now, but do not show it for two weeks. function fsfModalWindowElemFollowedLink () { fsfModalWindowElemDontShowForDays(14, false); } // Check if visiting appeal page. if (window.location.href.indexOf("appeal") > -1) { fsfModalWindowElemDontShowForAWhile(); } // Close popup if user clicks trasparent part document.getElementById("fsf-modal-window-elem-container").addEventListener("click", function(event){ fsfModalWindowElemDontShowForAWhile(); }); // Do not close popup if clicking non-trasparent part (with the text and buttons) document.getElementById("fsf-modal-window-elem").addEventListener("click", function(event){ event.stopPropagation(); }); // Close popup if user clicks X icon. document.getElementById("fsf-modal-window-elem-close-button").addEventListener("click", function(event){ fsfModalWindowElemDontShowForAWhile(); }); // Disable popup if user clicks one of the main buttons. document.getElementById("fsf-modal-window-elem-buttons").addEventListener("click", function(event){ fsfModalWindowElemFollowedLink(); }); // Disable popup if user clicks one of the "Read more" link. document.getElementById("fsf-modal-window-text-link").addEventListener("click", function(event){ fsfModalWindowElemFollowedLink(); }); // Close popup if user presses escape key. window.addEventListener("keydown", function (event) { switch (event.key) { case "Escape": fsfModalWindowElemDontShowForAWhile(); break; default: return; } }, true); // @license-end </script> </div>  <div id="coolio"> <p class="onlyMobile"><a tabindex="1" href="#content">Skip to content</a>, <a tabindex="2" href="/sitemap#content">sitemap</a> or <a tabindex="3" href="/search_form#content">skip to search</a>.</p> <div id="hd" style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 6px;" class="custom-doc visualNoPrint"> <header> <a href="/"> <img id="fsf-logo" style="position: absolute; bottom: 0px;" src="//static.fsf.org/common/img/logo-new.png" /> </a> <div id="portal-personaltools-wrapper"> <div id="fsf-custom"> <h5 class="hiddenStructure">Personal tools</h5> <ul id="portal-personaltools"> <li> <a href="https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/member-dashboard" id="personaltools-login">Log in</a> </li> <li> <a href="http://www.fsf.org/help-menu" id="personaltools-login-problems">Help!</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.fsf.org/associate/about-the-members-forum" id="personaltools-forum-promo">Members forum</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <a href="//fsf.org/jfb"> <img id="join-button" src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/join.en.png" alt="Join now" style="float: right;" /> </a> </header> </div> <div class="yui-g" id="fsf-nav"> <div class="navi"> <div> <div class="custom-doc"> <nav> <ul class="main-nav navigation"> <li><a href="/about/" title="">About</a></li> <li><a href="/campaigns/" title="">Campaigns</a></li> <li><a href="/licensing/" title="">Licensing</a></li> <li><a href="/associate/" title="">Membership</a></li> <li><a href="/resources/" title="">Resources</a></li> <li><a href="/community/" title="">Community</a></li> <li><a href="/donate/" title="">♥Donate♥</a></li> <li><a href="//shop.fsf.org/" title="">Shop</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.fsf.org/@@search" class="search-link"><span class="link-text">Search</span><span class="search-icon"></span></a></li> </ul> </nav> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="custom-doc yui-t5"> <div id="bd"><div id="yui-main"> <div class="yui-g"><div class="yui-b"> <div id="portal-column-content" class="cell width-3:4 position-0"> <div id="viewlet-above-content"><div id="portal-breadcrumbs"> <span id="breadcrumbs-you-are-here">You are here:</span> <span id="breadcrumbs-home"> <a href="https://www.fsf.org">Home</a> <span class="breadcrumbSeparator"> &rsaquo; </span> </span> <span id="breadcrumbs-1" dir="ltr"> <span id="breadcrumbs-current">Licensing</span> </span> </div></div> <div class=""> <dl class="portalMessage info" id="kssPortalMessage" style="display:none"> <dt>Info</dt> <dd></dd> </dl> <article> <div id="content"> <div id="viewlet-above-content-title"></div> <h1 id="parent-fieldname-title" class="documentFirstHeading"> FSF Licensing & Compliance Team </h1> <div id="viewlet-below-content-title"><div class="documentByLine" id="plone-document-byline"> <span class="documentAuthor"> by <a href="https://www.fsf.org/author/fsfweb">Free Software Foundation</a> <a href="https://www.fsf.org/contribs/fsfweb" class="netscape4"> Contributions </a> </span> <span class="documentModified"> — <span> Published on </span> Feb 10, 2005 04:06 PM </span> </div></div> <div id="parent-fieldname-description" class="documentDescription"> For over 20 years the FSF Licensing & Compliance Team has been the preeminent resource of free licensing for free software developers. </div> <div id="viewlet-above-content-body"> </div> <div id="content-core"> <div class="" id="parent-fieldname-text-5a4649c8df6c2815f0b872df8a6f90fa"> <p><em>Read this page in <a href="/es/licenciamiento-fsf-equipo-de-cumplimiento">Spanish</a>.</em></p> <h2>Education & Support</h2> <p>We have a number of online resources as well as community-based and paid support.</p> <p><strong>See our licensing recommendations, analysis, and FAQ</strong>:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-recommendations.html">Guide to choosing a license for your own work</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html">Comprehensive FAQ about the GNU Licenses</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html">List of other licenses and whether they are free, copyleft, or compatible with the GPL</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/quick-guide-gplv3">A Quick Guide to GPLv3</a></li> <li>Join us at one of our regular <a href="/licensing/seminars/">seminars on free software licensing & GPL compliance</a>, or view educational resources from past events.</li> <li>Check out the <a href="/events/">FSF events page</a> to know when members of the compliance team are speaking at other conferences or events.</li> </ul> <p class="pullquote visualNoPrint"> I must say that the <em>vast</em> majority of my questions have been answered by the thorough FAQs included around the FSF Web site. I needed them, for example, when I helped someone correctly GPL their software in under 10 minutes in time for a competition deadline! Thank you for all the resources you already provide. </p> <p>Keep up to date with the latest licensing issues by visiting our <a href="/blogs/licensing/">Licensing and Compliance blog</a>, or subscribe to the <a href="/static/fsforg/rss/licensing.xml" title="Subscribe to an RSS feed of FSF news">Licensing and Compliance Blog RSS feed</a> <a href="/static/fsforg/rss/licensing.xml" title="Subscribe to the licensing and compliance RSS feed of FSF news"><img alt="RSS feed" src="/static/fsforg/css/img/rss.gif" /></a>.</p> <p>You can also <a href="https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/mailing/subscribe?reset=1&gid=1524">subscribe to a mailing list which only announces updates related to FSF licensing materials</a>.</p> <p>Have a question that you couldn’t find the answer to? For general free software licensing questions please email <a href="mailto:licensing@fsf.org">licensing@fsf.org</a>. And of course, we would love any feedback you can provide -- good or bad! Our team of <a href="/licensing/team">licensing volunteers</a> are committed to answering questions and providing quality educational resources to the free software community. If your question is about developing proprietary software, then receiving an answer is contingent on payment of a fee.</p> <h2>Copyright & Compliance</h2> <ul> <li>The Free Software Foundation holds the copyright to many GNU packages, such as GCC and GNU Emacs. When hackers contribute to these projects, we ask that they assign their copyright to enable us to enforce the license. Visit our <a href="https://www.fsf.org/licensing/contributor-faq">Contributor's FAQ guide</a> to learn more about the process and read our article on <a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/FSF-copyright-handling">FSF Copyright Handling</a> to better understand why we take this approach. For any questions about assigning to the FSF, please contact us at <a href="mailto:assign@gnu.org">assign@gnu.org</a>.</li> <li>Free software is everywhere these days, inside our computers, phones, and even televisions. With so much free software being distributed every day, we have to remain vigilant against potential violations. You can help to make sure that free software is always free by <a href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-violation.html">reporting violations to our compliance team</a>. </li> <li>The FSF can only enforce the license on works to which we hold the copyright, but we can still help bring about compliance even when the copyright lies elsewhere. If you need help with enforcement, please don’t hesitate to contact us at <a href="mailto:license-violation@gnu.org">license-violation@gnu.org</a>.</li> <li>Many copyright holders seek monetary damages when their license is violated. We do not — <a href="/licensing/compliance">we only want violators to come back into compliance</a>, and help repair any harm done to the free software community by their past actions. Because of that, we contact violators directly, and negotiate a strategy with them that best accomplishes those goals. We follow <a href="/licensing/enforcement-principles">the Principles of Community-Oriented GPL Enforcement</a> in all our compliance matters.</li> </ul> <div style="clear: right; float: right; text-align: center; font-style: normal; width: 20em; max-width: 90%; padding: 0px; margin: 0.3em 1em 1em; border: 0.3em solid rgb(52, 101, 164);"><strong>Become an FSF Corporate Patron</strong><br /><p>One of the benefits of becoming a <a href="/patrons/benefits">Corporate Patron of the FSF</a> is that you receive two complimentary hours of licensing and/or GPL consultation from the FSF's Compliance Team (with a reduced rate for further consultation).<br /> To sign up as a patron, please write to <a href="mailto:patron@fsf.org">patron@fsf.org</a>.</div> <h2>Verification & Certification</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html">Fully free GNU/Linux Distributions</a>. These distributions meet our guidelines for a fully free distro, and are fully committed to keeping their distributions free.</li> <li>You can help keep those distributions free and earn a <a href="https://www.gnu.org/help/gnu-bucks.html">GNU Buck</a> by filing a bug regarding a licensing issue in one of our endorsed distributions and sending an email to <a href="mailto:report-nonfree@fsf.org">report-nonfree@fsf.org</a>.</li> <li>The <a href="https://directory.fsf.org/">Free Software Directory</a> is our community curated listing of over 17,000 free software packages. A great resource for finding and promoting software that respects its users.</li> <li>The <a href="/resources/hw/endorsement/respects-your-freedom">"Respects Your Freedom" (RYF)</a> certification program encourages the creation and sale of hardware that will do as much as possible to respect your freedom and your privacy, and will ensure that you have control over your device. <br /> </li> <li>Looking to buy hardware that works well with free software? 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