num_pages: 224
description: This collection includes historical writings such as The GNU Manifesto, which defined and launched the activist Free Software Movement, along with new writings on hot topics in copyright, patent law, and the controversial issue of "trusted computing."Stallman takes a critical look at common abuses of copyright law andpatents when applied to computer software programs, and how theseabuses damage our entire society and remove our existing freedoms. Healso discusses the social aspects of software and how free softwarecan create community and social justice.Given the current turmoil in copyright and patent laws, includingthe DMCA and proposed CBDTPA, these essays are more relevant thanever. Stallman tackles head-on the essential issues driving thecurrent changes in copyright law. He argues that for creativity toflourish, software must be free of inappropriate and overly-broadlegal constraints. Over the past twenty years his arguments andactions have changed the course of software history; this new book issure to impact the future of software and legal policies in the yearsto come.Lawrence Lessig, the author of two well-known books on similar topics,writes the introduction. He is a noted legal expert on copyright lawand a Stanford Law School professor. 
language: English
title: Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays
titlecomplete: Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays
genres: Social Science, Programming, Technology, Politics, Philosophy, Science, Nonfiction, Computer Science, Economics, Computers
ratings_count: 436
publisher: Free Software Foundation