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 days 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.
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