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Dear Free Software Supporter,

Since 2001, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) Licensing and
Compliance Lab has provided the legal muscle to defend free software,
and has supported software users, programmers, legal professionals,
and activists who want their software to remain free. FSF
representatives had done copyleft enforcement before this, but the
founding of the Lab was a big step toward formalizing and organizing
this work. [You may have already read][1] licensing and compliance
manager Donald Robertson’s comprehensive accounting of the current
functions of the team, but today, following our [thirty-fifth
anniversary celebration][2], we’re taking a look back at the role this
team has played over the course of the FSF’s thirty-five year-long
history, and some milestones along the way.

[0]: [link removed]
[1]: [link removed]
[2]: [link removed]

Like the other accounts written for this series, which focused on [the
campaigns team][3] and [the tech team][4] histories, this is far from
a complete account of the FSF’s licensing work: there are important
milestones that we were barely able to touch upon, and important
people involved whose stories and voices aren’t represented here. It’s
also possible that some details may have been missed or lost to time.

[3]: [link removed]
[4]: [link removed]

However, a few facts are very clear throughout: defending the GNU
Public License (GPL) has long been a massive task, and it was with the
establishment of the [Licensing and Compliance team][5] that this
effort was systematized. As with the rest of our work, licensing
depends on the financial support and volunteer power of our
supporters, and FSF associate members are the most passionate
supporters of all. This is why our current fundraiser period is
focused on a membership goal -- and we're so close! As of this
writing, it's down to fewer than fifty new members to reach the total
of five hundred, and we hope you'll help us get all the way there.

[5]: [link removed]



Please continue [spreading the word][13] about why all software must
be free, and I urge you to [join the FSF as an associate member
today][14] in order to help us continue our work. Joining as a member
will grant you access to our [benefits for associate members][15],
including a free "as in freedom" videoconferencing server. Renewing
also makes you eligible to receive one of our [exclusive gifts][16]
during this fundraiser period.

[13]: [link removed]
[14]: [link removed]
[15]: [link removed]
[16]: [link removed]


With that said: I hope today's blog provides an interesting and
entertaining account of the last thirty-five years of licensing, and
affirms our commitment to providing and strengthening a legal
framework to defend free software. As Craig Topham, our current
copyright and licensing associate, is quoted as saying in this blog:
"The free software movement is invaluable because humanity is faced
with a critical binary choice that will determine the quality of our
collective future: when it comes to computers, we either control these
machines or we don't." Strong free software licenses backed up with a
robust defense from the FSF provide priceless protection for that
control, and your support makes that protection possible.

**[Read the rest at fsf.org.][17]**

[17]: [link removed]

In solidarity,

Dana Morgenstein
Outreach and Communications Coordinator

--
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Sent from the Free Software Foundation,

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