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Subject: [GNU-traductores] old-gnudist:/home/www/html/philosophy/free-sw.html -- New file
Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 06:29:02 -0800 (PST) 
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/home/www/html/philosophy/free-sw.html

Contents:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML 2.0//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>The Free Software Definition - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation 
(FSF)</TITLE>
<LINK REV="made" HREF="mailto:address@hidden";>
</HEAD>
<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#1F00FF" ALINK="#FF0000" 
VLINK="#9900DD">
<H3>The Free Software Definition</H3>

<A HREF="/graphics/philosophicalgnu.html"><IMG 
SRC="/graphics/philosophical-gnu-sm.jpg"
   ALT=" [image of a Philosophical Gnu] "
   WIDTH="160" HEIGHT="200"></A>

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<P>

We maintain this free software definition to show clearly what must be
true about a particular software program for it to be considered
free software.

<P>

``Free software'' is a matter of liberty, not price.  To understand the
concept, you should think of ``free'' as in ``free speech,'' not as in
``free beer.''
<P>
Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy,
distribute, study, change and improve the software.  More precisely,
it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software:
<P>

<UL>
  <LI>The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
  <LI>The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs
      (freedom 1).   Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
  <LI>The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor
      (freedom 2).
  <LI>The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements
     to the public, so that the whole community benefits.
      (freedom 3).   Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
</UL>

<P>
A program is free software if users have all of these freedoms.
Thus, you should be free to redistribute copies, either with or
without modifications, either gratis or charging a fee for
distribution, to <A HREF="#exportcontrol">anyone anywhere</A>.  Being
free to do these things means (among other things) that you do not
have to ask or pay for permission.

<P>
You should also have the freedom to make modifications and use them
privately in your own work or play, without even mentioning that they
exist.  If you do publish your changes, you should not be required to
notify anyone in particular, or in any particular way.

<P>
The freedom to use a program means the freedom for any kind of person
or organization to use it on any kind of computer system, for any kind
of overall job, and without being required to communicate subsequently
with the developer or any other specific entity.

<P>
The freedom to redistribute copies must include binary or executable
forms of the program, as well as source code, for both modified and
unmodified versions.  It is ok if there is no way to produce a binary
or executable form (since some languages don't support that feature),
but you must have the freedom to redistribute such forms should you
find or develop a way to make them.

<P>
In order for the freedoms to make changes, and to publish improved
versions, to be meaningful, you must have access to the source code of
the program.  Therefore, accessibility of source code is a necessary
condition for free software.

<P>
In order for these freedoms to be real, they must be irrevocable as
long as you do nothing wrong; if the developer of the software has the
power to revoke the license, without your doing anything to give
cause, the software is not free.

<P>
However, certain kinds of rules about the manner of distributing free
software are acceptable, when they don't conflict with the central
freedoms.  For example, copyleft (very simply stated) is the rule that
when redistributing the program, you cannot add restrictions to deny
other people the central freedoms.  This rule does not conflict with
the central freedoms; rather it protects them.

<P>
Thus, you may have paid money to get copies of GNU software, or you
may have obtained copies at no charge.  But regardless of how you got
your copies, you always have the freedom to copy and change the
software, even to <A HREF="/philosophy/selling.html">sell copies</A>.
<P>

``Free software'' does not mean ``non-commercial''.  A free program
must be available for commercial use, commercial development, and
commercial distribution.  Commercial development of free software is
no longer unusual; such free commercial software is very important.

<P>
Rules about how to package a modified version are acceptable, if they
don't effectively block your freedom to release modified versions.
Rules that ``if you make the program available in this way, you must
make it available in that way also'' can be acceptable too, on the
same condition.  (Note that such a rule still leaves you the choice of
whether to publish the program or not.)  It is also acceptable for the
license to require that, if you have distributed a modified version
and a previous developer asks for a copy of it, you must send one.

<P>
In the GNU project, we use <A HREF="/copyleft/copyleft.html">
``copyleft''</A> to protect these freedoms legally for everyone.  But
<A HREF="/philosophy/categories.html#Non-CopyleftedFreeSoftware">
non-copylefted free software</A> also exists.  We believe there are
important reasons why <A HREF="/philosophy/pragmatic.html"> it is
better to use copyleft</A>, but if your program is non-copylefted free
software, we can still use it.

<P>
See <A HREF="/philosophy/categories.html">Categories of Free Software
       (18k characters)</A>
for a description of how ``free software,'' ``copylefted software'' and
other categories of software relate to each other.

<P>
Sometimes government <A NAME="exportcontrol">export control
regulations</A> and trade sanctions can constrain your freedom to
distribute copies of programs internationally.  Software developers do
not have the power to eliminate or override these restrictions, but
what they can and must do is refuse to impose them as conditions of
use of the program.  In this way, the restrictions will not affect
activities and people outside the jurisdictions of these governments.

<P>
When talking about free software, it is best to avoid using terms like
``give away'' or ``for free'', because those terms imply that the
issue is about price, not freedom.  Some common terms such as
``piracy'' embody opinions we hope you won't endorse.  See <A
HREF="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html">Confusing Words and Phrases
that are Worth Avoiding</A> for a discussion of these terms.
We also have a list of <A HREF="/philosophy/fs-translations.html">translations
of "free software"</A> into various languages.

<P>

Finally, note that criteria such as those stated in this free software
definition require careful thought for their interpretation.  To
decide whether a specific software license qualifies as a free
software license, we judge it based on these criteria to determine
whether it fits their spirit as well as the precise words.  If a
license includes unconscionable restrictions, we reject it, even if we
did not anticipate the issue in these criteria.  Sometimes a license
requirement raises an issue that calls for extensive thought,
including discussions with a lawyer, before we can decide if the
requirement is acceptable.  When we reach a conclusion about a new
issue, we often update these criteria to make it easier to see why
certain licenses do or don't qualify.

<P>

If you are interested in whether a specific license qualifies as a
free software license, see our <A
HREF="/licenses/license-list.html">list of licenses</A>.  If the
license you are concerned with is not listed there, you can ask us
about it by sending us email at <A
HREF="mailto:address@hidden";>&lt;address@hidden&gt;</A>.

<HR>

<H4><A HREF="/philosophy/philosophy.html">Other Texts to Read</A></H4>

<P>
Another group has started using the term "open source" to mean
something close (but not identical) to "free software".  We prefer the
term "free software" because, once you have heard it refers to freedom
rather than price, <A HREF="free-software-for-freedom.html">it calls
to mind freedom</A>.

<HR>
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<P>
Return to <A HREF="/home.html">GNU's home page</A>.
<P>

Please send FSF &amp; GNU inquiries &amp; questions to 

<A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";><EM>address@hidden</EM></A>.
There are also <A HREF="/home.html#ContactInfo">other ways to
contact</A> the FSF.
<P>

Please send comments on these web pages to

<A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";><EM>address@hidden</EM></A>,
send other questions to
<A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";><EM>address@hidden</EM></A>.
<P>
Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111,  USA
<P>
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is
permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.
<P>
Updated:
<!-- timestamp start -->
$Date: 2001/12/21 17:06:31 $ $Author: rms $
<!-- timestamp end -->
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