Protect Your Freedom to Write Programs Join the League for Programming Freedom (Version of February 3, 1994)Ten years ago, programmers were allowed to write programs using allthe techniques they knew, and providing whatever features they feltwere useful. This is no longer the case. New monopolies, known assoftware patents and interface copyrights, have taken away our freedomof expression and our ability to do a good job."Look and feel" lawsuits attempt to monopolize well-known commandlanguages; some have succeeded. Copyrights on command languagesenforce gratuitous incompatibility, close opportunities forcompetition, and stifle incremental improvements.Software patents are even more dangerous; they make every designdecision in the development of a program carry a risk of a lawsuit,with draconian pretrial seizure. It is difficult and expensive tofind out whether the techniques you consider using are patented; it isimpossible to find out whether they will be patented in the future.The League for Programming Freedom is a grass-roots organization ofprofessors, students, businessmen, programmers and users dedicated tobringing back the freedom to write programs. The League is notopposed to the legal system that Congress expressly established forsoftware--copyright on individual programs. Our aim is to reverse therecent changes that prevent programmers from doing their work.The League works to abolish the new monopolies by publishing articles,talking with public officials, denouncing egregious offenders, andfiling amicus curiae briefs, most notably against Lotus in its suitagainst Borland. We testified twice at the recent Patent Officehearings on software patents. We welcome suggestions for otheractivities, as well as help in carrying them out.(Added 2003) The League for Programming Freedom is inactive nowadays,though its web site www.programming-freedom.org is still maintained.It would be very useful to find a person who could take the initiativeto get the LPF operating again. It will be a substantial job,requiring persistence and working with a lawyer. If you want to doit, please write to rms@gnu.org.