Re: FSF Press Release

On Wed, 14 Jan 2004 16:44:13 -0500 (EST), Aaron S. Hawley wrote
> Imagine if this was on C-Span, I wouldn't know what to do with myself.

I sent this press release to Democracy Now!  Maybe they'll cover it.

David


> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Bradley M. Kuhn <[email protected]>
> To: [email protected]
> Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 16:04:08 -0500
> Subject: [GNU/FSF Press] Setting the Record Straight: The Free Software
>     Foundation, the General Public License and SCO versus IBM
> 
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> 
> Media Contact: Free Software Foundation
>                Ravi Khanna <[email protected]>
>                Phone: +1-617-542-5942
> 
> Media Contact: Free Software Foundation
>                John Shannon <[email protected]>
>                Phone: +1-917-400-4996
> 
>         Setting the Record Straight: The Free Software Foundation,
>               the General Public License and SCO versus IBM
> 
> Boston, MA, USA - Wednesday, January 14, 2003 - On Wednesday,
>  January 21, 2004, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) will hold a 
> press conference at Columbia University to discuss the strengths and 
> successes of the GNU General Public License (GPL) and to refute the 
> claims made by the The SCO Group, Ltd. (SCO) and their counsel in 
> their ongoing lawsuit against International Business Machines Corp 
> (IBM).
> 
> In the last few months, SCO has been sowing confusion and misinformation
> regarding the validity of the GNU GPL as part of their strategy to extort
> money from users of the kernel named Linux, which is licensed under
> FSF's GPL.  FSF, the umpire of Free Software disputes, will respond 
> to SCO's lawsuit and will explain how SCO seeks to inappropriately increase
> its own market value at the expense of the legitimate activity of the
> Free Software community's developers, distributors and users.
> 
> This press conference is valuable to anyone interested in the state 
> of Free Software, its licensing issues, the SCO v. IBM lawsuit, and the
> integrity of the GNU GPL.  FSF maintains that the SCO lawsuit is not 
> only without merit, but that SCO have themselves benefited from distribution
> the kernel named Linux under GPL, even as they question that 
> license's validity.  Indeed, Professor Eben Moglen, FSF Board Member 
> and General Counsel, has pointed out that SCO has distributed Linux 
> under GPL, even after filing their lawsuit.  SCO has therefore 
> published its supposed trade secrets and copyrighted material under 
> a license that gives everyone permission to copy, modify, and 
> redistribute that software.
> 
> Professor Moglen will head the press conference and will discuss both
> the strengths and successes of the GPL -- the most popular and widely
> used Free Software copyright license.  As the lawyer behind most
> successful enforcement efforts of GPL, and a nationally recognized
> authority on alternatives to contemporary copyright and patent law,
> Professor Moglen is in an unique position to discuss the history of the
> GPL, the FSF's continued success in obtaining compliance with the 
> GPL, and why SCO's attack on the users of the kernel named Linux and 
> the GPL is both unprecedented and without merit.
> 
> This press conference offers an excellent opportunity to understand the
> history and intent of the GPL, its importance in the IT community 
> and the weakness of SCO's current lawsuit against IBM.  Professor 
> Moglen will be available to answer questions both during and after 
> the press conference.
> 
> About Free Software Foundation:
> 
> The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to
> promoting computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and
> redistribute computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and
> use of Free (as in freedom) Software - particularly the GNU operating
> system and its GNU/Linux variants - and Free Documentation for Free
> Software. The FSF also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and
> political issues of freedom in the use of software. Their web site,
> located at http://www.fsf.org, is an important source of information
> about GNU/Linux. They are headquartered in Boston, MA, USA.
> 
> About Eben Moglen:
> 
> Eben Moglen is Professor of Law and Legal History at the Columbia Law
> School, where he has taught since 1987. He clerked for Judge Edward
> Weinfeld of the United State District Court for the Southern District
> of New York and for Justice Thurgood Marshall of the United States
> Supreme Court. Before and during law school he was a designer and
> implementer of advanced computer programming languages at IBM's Santa
> Teresa Laboratory and Thomas J. Watson Research Center. His principal
> areas of interest are Anglo American legal history, constitutional 
> law, computers and free expression, and intellectual property. Since 
> 1993, he has served as pro bono General Counsel for the Foundation 
> and has served on its board since July 2000.
> 
> Copyright (C) 2004, Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place -
> Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111, USA
> 
> Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted
> in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.
> 
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