The Award for the Advancement of Free Software is given annually to an individual who has made a great contribution to the progress and development of free software, through activities that accord with the spirit of free software.

Audience members waiting for the talk

This year, it was given to Matthew Garrett, for his work to keep "Secure Boot" free software compatible.

One of Garrett's nominators said, "Matthew spent considerable efforts helping free software operating systems cope with the UEFI 'Secure Boot' debacle. He has also enhanced the UEFI support in those systems, both to fix bugs and to work around bugs in UEFI firmware. Matthew has led the charge to develop tools that allow users to make use of 'Secure Boot' themselves, installing their own keys and signing their own code. Finally, Matthew works with the industry organizations and companies who maintain UEFI to ensure that those standards can support free software. Even today, despite no longer working for a company that requires his work in that area, he continues to serve as a UEFI expert and debugger in his spare time."

Garrett said, "Free software has been a part of my life since I was a teenager. Growing up in an area with little interest in computing and limited internet access, having the freedom to examine and modify the source code to software was an important part of learning the skills I rely on today. Everyone deserves to be able to exercise the same freedoms that I benefited from, and I will continue to advocate for solutions that allow them to do so without compromising the security that recent events demonstrate is sorely required."

Garrett joins a distinguished list of previous winners, including the 2012 winner, Dr. Fernando Perez.

The Award for Projects of Social Benefit is presented to a project or team responsible for applying free software, or the ideas of the free software movement, in a project that intentionally and significantly benefits society in other aspects of life. This award stresses the use of free software in the service of humanity.

GNOME OPW winning the Award for Projects of Social Benefit

This year, the award went to the GNOME Foundation's Outreach Program for Women (OPW), which helps women (cis and trans) and genderqueer people get involved in free software development. OPW provides a supportive community for beginning to contribute throughout the year and offers focused internship opportunities twice a year with a number of free software organizations. Since 2010, OPW has provided 130 women with an opportunity to participate in paid remote internships with 23 free software organizations like Wikimedia, GNU MediaGoblin, and last year's winner, OpenMRS. OPW's work benefits society more broadly, addressing gender discrimination by empowering women to develop leadership and development skills in a society which runs on technology. OPW does this critical work using the ideals and collaborative culture of the free software movement.

One nomination for the program read, "[OPW] brings women into the free software movement who might otherwise not have become involved, either because they believed that they weren't welcome or that free software was just a 'boy's club.' Given the current number of women in the movement (approximately 2-5%), this project is introducing free software to a largely unreached population -- the world's women. "

Karen Sandler and Marina Zhurakhinskaya, co-organizers of OPW, were present to accept the award on behalf of OPW.

Zhurakhinskaya, a GNOME Foundation director and community engagement lead at Red Hat, which partners with GNOME to organize OPW, said, "We're honored to receive this award on behalf of the GNOME Foundation and proud that the FSF recognizes the importance of taking action to include more women."

Sandler, the GNOME Foundation's executive director, said, "We hope that this recognition inspires everyone to think about how to improve diversity in free software. We'd love it if you'd apply to participate, spread the word about the program, consider joining as an organization, or ask your company to sponsor."

Matthew Garrett with his award

Nominations for both awards are submitted by members of the public, then evaluated by an award committee composed of previous winners and FSF founder and president Richard Stallman. This year's award committee was: Rob Savoye, Wietse Venema, Richard Stallman, Suresh Ramasubramanian, Vernor Vinge, Hong Feng, Fernanda G. Weiden, Harald Welte, Vernor Vinge, Jonas Oberg, and Yukihiro Matsumoto.

More information about both awards, including the full list of previous winners, can be found at https://www.fsf.org/awards.

About the 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, and its Web sites, located at fsf.org and gnu.org, are an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at https://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

Media Contacts

John Sullivan
Executive Director
Free Software Foundation
+1 (617) 542 5942
campaigns@fsf.org

Photos under CC BY 3.0 Attribution by Tristan Chambers.

The jointly filed brief argues that the "machine or transformation" inquiry employed by the Court in Bilski v. Kappos is the correct, and exclusive, bright line test for patent eligibility of computer-implemented inventions. It says that not only do software idea patents fail established tests for patentability; they also violate the First Amendement.

On March 31, 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in the case, in which the Court has granted certiorari, apparently to decide a question previously reserved: under what circumstances patents may be granted for inventions implemented in computer programs. A decision is expected by summer.

FSF executive director John Sullivan added, "We are proud to be a party to SFLC's brief, along with OSI. Software patents should be opposed not just by all computer programmers and users; they should be opposed by anyone who values freedom of expression. We've seen many recent proposals to make software idea patents 'better,' or to fight trolls, but they miss the fundamental point. We do not want these restrictions on free speech and human creative expression to be of higher quality -- we want software idea patents gone."

The FSF has been campaigning for decades to abolish software idea patents. Its End Software Patents campaign filed a brief in the Bilski case, and released a documentary film detailing the problem. The campaign's wiki has continued to grow as a preeminent source of legislative, judicial, and philosophical information in the area.

FSF president Richard M. Stallman regularly speaks out against software patents, often highlighting their absurdity by imagining how we would feel about similar patents on literature.

About the 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, and its Web sites, located at fsf.org and gnu.org, are an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at https://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

Media Contacts

John Sullivan
Executive Director
Free Software Foundation
+1 (617) 542 5942
campaigns@fsf.org

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The event sessions will be lead by Karen Sandler of the GNOME Foundation and former general counsel of the Software Freedom Law Center; Bradley Kuhn, President of the Software Freedom Conservancy and a member of the FSF's Board of Directors, and Donald R. Robertson, III, J.D., the FSF's Copyright and Licensing Associate.

The event is aimed at legal professionals and law students. Registration for the event is open to the public at https://crm.fsf.org/civicrm/event/register?reset=1&id=15.

"We're looking forward to helping current and future lawyers get comfortable working with the GNU General Public License and other free software licenses, so that they can expand their practices and address their clients' concerns," said FSF executive director John Sullivan.

The seminar is scheduled for the day after the Free Software Foundation's LibrePlanet 2014 conference, an annual conference that brings together software developers, policy experts, activists and computer users to learn skills, share accomplishments and face challenges to software freedom.

More information about the event can be found at the event page.

About the 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, and its Web sites, located at fsf.org and gnu.org, are an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at https://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

Presenters

Bradley M. Kuhn

Bradley M. Kuhn is President of the Software Freedom Conservancy and on the Board of Directors of the Free Software Foundation (FSF). Kuhn began his work in the software freedom movement as a volunteer in 1992, when he became an early adopter of the GNU/Linux operating system, and began contributing to various FLOSS projects. He worked during the 1990s as a system administrator and software developer for various companies, and taught AP Computer Science at Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati. Kuhn's non-profit career began in 2000, when he was hired by the FSF. As FSF's Executive Director from 2001-2005, Kuhn led FSF's GPL enforcement, launched its Associate Member program, and invented the Affero GPL. From 2005-2010, Kuhn worked as the Policy Analyst and Technology Director of the Software Freedom Law Center. Kuhn holds a summa cum laude B.S. in Computer Science from Loyola University in Maryland, and an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Cincinnati. Kuhn's Master's thesis discussed methods for dynamic interoperability of FLOSS languages. Kuhn has a blog and a microblog as @bkuhn on identi.ca.

Karen M. Sandler

Karen M. Sandler is the Executive Director of the GNOME Foundation. She is known for her advocacy for free software, particularly for software safety on medical devices. Prior to joining GNOME, she was General Counsel of the Software Freedom Law Center. Karen continues to do pro bono legal work with SFLC and serves as an officer of the Software Freedom Conservancy. She is also pro bono General Counsel of QuestionCopyright.org and an advisor to the Ada Initiative. Before joining SFLC, Karen worked as an associate in the corporate departments of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in New York and Clifford Chance in New York and London. Karen received her law degree from Columbia Law School in 2000, where she was a James Kent Scholar and co-founder of the Columbia Science and Technology Law Review. Karen received her bachelors degree in engineering from The Cooper Union. She is a recipient of the O'Reilly Open Source Award.

Donald R. Robertson, III

Donald R. Robertson, III, is the Copyright and Licensing Associate for the Free Software Foundation, where he has worked for over five years as part of the FSF's Licensing & Compliance Lab. He is actively involved in the FSF's compliance work, and is one of the FSF's primary representatives in conversations with companies whose employees want to contribute to free software projects. Donald is a graduate of the New England School of Law, where he was the managing editor of the New England Law Review, and interned for the Hon. William G. Young at the federal district courthouse in Boston. He received his bachelors degree in philosophy and history from Cornell College, and is admitted to the Massachusetts bar.

Media Contacts

Joshua Gay
Licensing & Compliance Manager
Free Software Foundation
+1 (617) 542 5942
licensing@fsf.org

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In October 2012, the LulzBot AO-100 3D printer became the first hardware product to be awarded use of the FSF's RYF certification mark. Since that time, Aleph Objects, Inc. has continued to release new and improved successors to the AO-100 model, including the AO-101, TAZ, TAZ 2, and TAZ 3, each of which have complied with RYF certification mark requirements. The latest model, which can be purchased online, has both hardware and software improvements, including a controller with a graphical LCD interface that allows users to print from an SD card and to perform printer start up, selection, and configuration changes.

"Aleph Objects, Inc. has become a leader in the free software movement, not only in terms of producing hardware products that respect users' freedom, but also in terms of their engagement with and contributions to the free software community each step of the way," said Joshua Gay, FSF licensing & compliance manager.

The software reviewed by Gay as part of the certification for the TAZ 3 printer includes the Marlin firmware for the RAMBo electronics board and ATmega chipset; the Python printing host software suite, which includes Pronterface, Pronsole, and Printcore; and a Slic3r, a program used to convert a digital 3D models into printing instructions.

"Aleph Objects, Inc. is honored to receive RYF certification for our latest 3D printer, the TAZ 3. No organization has greater credibility when it comes to user freedom than the Free Software Foundation, which for nearly thirty years has been prescient about technology issues that threaten user freedom. Our goal is to continue to practice these principles as we develop new technology," said Jeff Moe, president of Aleph Objects, Inc.

In addition to the the LulzBot line of 3D printers, a total of nine products have been awarded use of the RYF certification mark, including: the RAMBo all-in-one 3D printer electronics board used in the LulzBot printers; two USB wireless adapters sold by ThinkPenguin; and the Gluglug X60 laptop.

To learn more about the Respects Your Freedom hardware certification program visit https://www.fsf.org/ryf.

Hardware sellers interested in applying for certification can consult https://www.fsf.org/resources/hw/endorsement/criteria.

About the 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, and its Web sites, located at fsf.org and gnu.org, are an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at https://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

About Aleph Objects, Inc.

Built upon the philosophy of freedom, Aleph Objects, Inc. is transforming the 3D printer industry. Based in Loveland, Colo., they are committed to Libre Hardware, which means their hardware and software will not be locked down, become obsolete, or require licensed upgrades over time. Empowering customers is part of their innovative spirit and LulzBot users are encouraged to be part of the ongoing conversation. Join in and learn more online at http://lulzbot.com.

Media Contacts

Joshua Gay
Licensing & Compliance Manager
Free Software Foundation
+1 (617) 542 5942
licensing@fsf.org

Kristin Golliher
Media Contact, LulzBot/Aleph Objects, Inc.
(970) 449 6870
Kristin.Golliher@wildrockpr.com
www.LulzBot.com