Free Software Licensing and the GNU General Public License

On August 8, 2003, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) conducted a one-day seminar on the GNU General Public
License at Stanford University. The seminar, cosponsored by the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society
(CIS), was led by Daniel Ravicher, of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP and Bradley M. Kuhn, Executive Director of
FSF. The day’s proceedings offered lawyers and businesspeople a complete introduction to the legal issues surrounding the
development and distribution of free software. Presenters paid particular attention to the GNU operating system and
the Linux operating system kernel.

In the morning session, Mr. Kuhn provided a general overview of the GNU GPL and laid out the motivations behind its creation. During the afternoon, Mr. Ravicher focused on the detailed legal implications of the license. CIS Executive Director and Stanford Law Professor Lawrence Lessig spoke during the lunch.