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Preface {#preface .unnumbered}
=======
The third edition of Free Software, Free Society holds updated versions
of most of the essays from the second edition, as well as many new
essays. A third of the essays are new.
As it was in previous editions, the initial section of the book is
devoted to the principles and philosophy of free software. It includes a
more powerful presentation of why software ought to be free, an
explanation of how our principles determine our practical decisions, and
addresses the question of freedom and hardware designs.
The way we name and frame an issue affects how we think about it.
Companies choose terminology to promote their framing; to accept that is
to support them. Thus, this edition has new material about how we at the
FSF name things and why.
The copyright section now presents a transcript of a speech that
discusses the overall issue of copyright law and how it should be
changed.
The patents section proposes a solution for the problem caused by
patents in the computing field. I’ve kept essays about patents separate
from those about copyright, since the two issues should not be lumped
together.
The licensing section is largely unchanged, still presenting the GNU
licenses, with an introduction written with Brett Smith giving their
history and the motives for each of them, and an essay explaining why
software projects should upgrade to version 3 of the GNU General Public
License.
This edition continues to address dangers and traps that the free
software community faces, including now the issues of nonfree games,
e-books, and the growing threat of digital surveillance.
I hope this book can show you how you might lose your freedom, teach you
how to protect it, and inspire you to value it.
Thank you to Jeanne Rasata for managing the project, editing the book,
formatting the text, and creating the index. Thanks also to Karl Berry
for technical assistance with Texinfo, and Kyle Winfree for designing
and formatting the cover.
RICHARD STALLMAN
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