# HG changeset patch # User Eli Zaretskii # Date 1149342866 0 # Node ID 26720075d7492afd84ac8d390012c33547b545d0 # Parent dcdbdce3d030f831235a1e2e6ee54f92f0b1a448 Remove file. diff -r dcdbdce3d030 -r 26720075d749 etc/LPF --- a/etc/LPF Sat Jun 03 13:53:18 2006 +0000 +++ /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 @@ -1,43 +0,0 @@ - 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 all -the techniques they knew, and providing whatever features they felt -were useful. This is no longer the case. New monopolies, known as -software patents and interface copyrights, have taken away our freedom -of expression and our ability to do a good job. - -"Look and feel" lawsuits attempt to monopolize well-known command -languages; some have succeeded. Copyrights on command languages -enforce gratuitous incompatibility, close opportunities for -competition, and stifle incremental improvements. - -Software patents are even more dangerous; they make every design -decision in the development of a program carry a risk of a lawsuit, -with draconian pretrial seizure. It is difficult and expensive to -find out whether the techniques you consider using are patented; it is -impossible to find out whether they will be patented in the future. - -The League for Programming Freedom is a grass-roots organization of -professors, students, businessmen, programmers and users dedicated to -bringing back the freedom to write programs. The League is not -opposed to the legal system that Congress expressly established for -software--copyright on individual programs. Our aim is to reverse the -recent 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, and -filing amicus curiae briefs, most notably against Lotus in its suit -against Borland. We testified twice at the recent Patent Office -hearings on software patents. We welcome suggestions for other -activities, 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 initiative -to get the LPF operating again. It will be a substantial job, -requiring persistence and working with a lawyer. If you want to do -it, please write to rms@gnu.org. -