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<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
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<title>Using GNU FDL
- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
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<h2>Using GNU FDL</h2>
<p>by <a href="http://www.stallman.org">Richard Stallman</a></p>
<p>If you know someone who is writing a manual about free software,
and looking towards commercial publication, you have a chance to help
the Free Software Movement a great deal with a small amount of work:
by suggesting the idea of publishing the manual under
the <a href="/copyleft/fdl.html">GNU Free Documentation
License</a>.</p>
<p>Until recently, commercial book publication almost always implied a
nonfree book. But just as free commercial software has been
increasing for a while, now free commercial documentation is starting
to take off as well. Some of the major commercial publishers of
documentation about the <a href= "/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux
system</a>, and about free software in general, are now willing to
publish books under the GNU FDL, and pay the authors in the usual
way—IF the authors are firm about this.</p>
<p>But publishers are likely to first propose an ordinary proprietary
book. And if the authors agree, that's what it will be. So it is
essential for authors to take the lead; to say, “We want to use
the GNU FDL for this book”. So when your friend mentions
writing a manual, you can influence the course of events simply by
pointing out this possibility.</p>
<p>If a publisher rejects the request at first, the GNU Project may be
able to help the authors prevail. They can contact us
at <a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>.</p>
<p>There
are <a href="/licenses/license-list.html#DocumentationLicenses">
other</a> legitimate free documentation licenses, but sometimes using
them requires care. For example, one license is equipped with two
optional clauses that can be enabled; the license is free if neither
optional clause is used, but enabling either of them makes the book
nonfree. (See <a href="/licenses/license-list.html">
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html.</a>) Authors that want
to publish free documentation, but using a license other than the GNU
FDL, can contact us so we can check that the license really qualifies
for free documentation.</p>
<p>When a commercial manual is free and relates to the GNU system, the
GNU Project can recommend it to the public. So if the authors or
publisher set up a web page to describe it and/or sell copies, we can
make a link to that page from <a
href="/doc/other-free-books.html">www.gnu.org/doc/other-free-books.html</a>,
provided the page meets our usual criteria (for instance, it should
not link to other pages about nonfree software or documentation, and
should not be obnoxious about trying to persuade people to buy).
Please inform <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org">
<webmasters@gnu.org></a> about such pages.</p>
<p>See also <a href="/philosophy/free-doc.html">Free Software and Free
Manuals</a>.</p>
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<p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to
<a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>.
There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a>
the FSF. Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent
to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p>
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Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard
to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org">
<web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p>
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Please see the <a
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files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should
be under CC BY-ND 3.0 US. Please do NOT change or remove this
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being publicly visible on the web or in a revision control system).
There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers
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<p>Copyright © 1999 Richard M. Stallman</p>
<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license"
href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/us/">Creative
Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License</a>.</p>
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<p class="unprintable">Updated:
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$Date: 2014/04/12 12:40:48 $
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