0.6 Creative approaches and alternatives  (Page 2/7)

Free software licenses

Most commercial software programs are distributed under restrictive terms of use. Moreover, their source code -- the code that makes the program run -- is  closed .  As a result, developers cannot study the code to understand how it works, to fix bugs, or to customize it to their needs.

A radically different approach to software was first developed by Richard Stallman, when he was a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Stallman became angry when he could not modify the software for a printer in his office that was not working properly. Provoked by this and other experiences, Stallman created the GNU-GPL, which stands for "GNU is not Unix" General Public License. (Unix was the name of a popular "closed" operating system.) The GNU-GPL allows users to run, copy, distribute, study, change, and improve the software to which it is applied. More specifically, the GNU-GPL grants users  four kinds of freedoms :

• The freedom to run the program for any purpose (freedom 0).
• The freedom to study how the program works, and to adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
• The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
• The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements (and modified versions in general) to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this, and modifications must be shared with the same degree of freedom.

In what sense, exactly, is software licensed on these terms, "free"? Stallman suggested that analytical clarity could be enhanced by differentiating two meanings of "free" -- one that appears in the phrase, “free speech”; the other that appears in the phrase, “free beer.” Other commentators distinguish these concepts by using the French terms,  libre  (meaning freedom) and  gratis  (meaning no cost). Relying on this distinction, Stallman argued that free software was "free" in the first sense, but not necessarily in the second sense. In other words, some "free software" is sold for a fee. That said, in practice most free software currently is "free" in both senses -- in other words, both libre AND gratis.

There are many incentives that drive the creation of free software. A developer might find it entertaining to do so. She might be driven by a desire to contribute to the public domain. She might want to build her reputation as a programmer. She might distribute the software for free but charge users for help in customizing it to their needs. Economists continue to discuss whether incentives of these various sorts are sufficient to sustain a viable business. Meanwhile, businesses relying on this approach are flourishing.

Creative commons

Introduction

Creative Commons is a non-profit organization created in 2001 by a group of scholars and activists. It was founded and led for a long time by renowned cyberlaw scholar  Lawrence Lessig .

Creative Commons provides authors convenient ways to authorize specific uses of their works, while retaining control over other uses. In other words, it allows them easily to create their own licenses, minimize the orphan works problem, and contribute to culture and free expression.