taler-merchant-demos

wsis-2003.html (6241B)

---

 <!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
 <!-- Parent-Version: 1.96 -->
 <!-- This page is derived from /server/standards/boilerplate.html -->
 <!--#set var="TAGS" value="speeches" -->
 <!--#set var="DISABLE_TOP_ADDENDUM" value="yes" -->
 <title>Stallman's Speech at WSIS, 16 July 2003
 - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
 <!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/wsis-2003.translist" -->
 <!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
 <!--#include virtual="/philosophy/ph-breadcrumb.html" -->
 <!--GNUN: OUT-OF-DATE NOTICE-->
 <!--#include virtual="/server/top-addendum.html" -->
 <div class="article reduced-width">
 <h2>Speech at WSIS, 16 July 2003</h2>
 
 <address class="byline">by <a href="https://www.stallman.org/">Richard
 Stallman</a></address>
 
 <p>
 The benefit of computers is that it's easier to copy and manipulate
 information.  Corporations are using two kinds of imposed monopolies
 to deny you this benefit.</p>
 
 <p>
 Software patents restrict how you use your computer.  They restrict
 developing software.  A big program combines dozens or hundreds of
 ideas.  When each idea can be patented, only IBMs and Microsofts can
 safely write software.  Bye bye to any independent local software
 industry.  Software patents must be rejected.</p>
 
 <p>
 Copyrights restrict using and sharing information&mdash;exactly what
 your computer is for.  It was fine to trade away the freedom to copy
 when only publishers could copy; the public lost nothing.  Today
 peer-to-peer sharing must be legal.  WSIS should not teach people that
 sharing is wrong.</p>
 
 <p>
 Copyrights block access to scientific publications.  Every university
 should be free to make an open-access mirror for any journal, so no one
 is excluded from access.</p>
 
 <p>
 Then there's the economic effect.  When companies have power over you,
 they bleed you dry.  Copyrights and software patents increase the
 digital divide and concentrate wealth.  We have too much scarcity in
 the world; let's not create more.  TRIPS is bad enough, but software
 patents and the WIPO copyright treaty go beyond TRIPS, and WSIS should
 reject them.</p>
 
 <p>
 Computer users need software that respects their freedom.  We call it
 &ldquo;free (libre) software,&rdquo; meaning freedom, not gratis.  You
 have the freedom to run it, study it, change it, and redistribute
 it.</p>
 
 <p>
 Free software means you control your computing.  With nonfree
 software, the software owners control it.  They put in spy features,
 back doors, restrictions.</p>
 
 <p>
 With free software, you can make the program do what you want.
 &ldquo;You&rdquo; could mean an individual programmer, a company, or a
 group of users with similar needs.  Non-programmers can convince or
 pay programmers to make changes for you.  With free software, you're
 free to make it handle your language.  Free to adapt it for your
 disability.</p>
 
 <p>
 Software owners deliberately make programs incompatible.  With free
 software, users can make it follow standards.</p>
 
 <p>
 You need free software to train master programmers.  Nonfree software
 is a secret, so nobody can learn from it.  Free software gives
 talented young people in Africa the chance to learn how to work on
 real software.  School should also teach students the spirit of
 cooperation.  All schools should use free software.</p>
 
 <p>
 Free software is necessary for sustainable development.  If everyone
 in your country uses a program that's secret and controlled by a
 single company, that's not development, that's electronic
 colonization.</p>
 </div>
 
 </div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above -->
 <!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
 <div id="footer" role="contentinfo">
 <div class="unprintable">
 
 <p>Please send general FSF &amp; GNU inquiries to
 <a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org">&lt;gnu@gnu.org&gt;</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">&lt;webmasters@gnu.org&gt;</a>.</p>
 
 <p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph,
         replace it with the translation of these two:
 
         We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality
         translations.  However, we are not exempt from imperfection.
         Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard
         to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org">
         &lt;web-translators@gnu.org&gt;</a>.</p>
 
         <p>For information on coordinating and contributing translations of
         our web pages, see <a
         href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
         README</a>. -->
 Please see the <a
 href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
 README</a> for information on coordinating and contributing translations
 of this article.</p>
 </div>
 
 <!-- Regarding copyright, in general, standalone pages (as opposed to
      files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should
      be under CC BY-ND 4.0.  Please do NOT change or remove this
      without talking with the webmasters or licensing team first.
      Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the
      document.  For web pages, it is ok to list just the latest year the
      document was modified, or published.
      
      If you wish to list earlier years, that is ok too.
      Either "2001, 2002, 2003" or "2001-2003" are ok for specifying
      years, as long as each year in the range is in fact a copyrightable
      year, i.e., a year in which the document was published (including
      being publicly visible on the web or in a revision control system).
      
      There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers
      Information document, www.gnu.org/prep/maintain. -->
 
 <p>Copyright &copy; 2003, 2022 Richard Stallman</p>
 
 <p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license"
 href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative
 Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.</p>
 
 <!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" -->
 
 <p class="unprintable">Updated:
 <!-- timestamp start -->
 $Date: 2022/06/11 13:47:06 $
 <!-- timestamp end -->
 </p>
 </div>
 </div><!-- for class="inner", starts in the banner include -->
 </body>
 </html>