Boston, Massachusetts, USA – May 25, 2001 –
Richard M. Stallman, president of the Free Software Foundation,
announced today that New York University has asked him to deliver a
talk that will counterbalance the speech made on May 3, 2001 at NYU
by Craig Mundie of Microsoft.
Stallman, author of the GNU General Public License, will deliver
this speech, entitled “Free Software: Freedom and Cooperation”, at
Warren Weaver Hall, Room 109 at 251 Mercer Street on the New York
University campus. The speech will be held at 10:00 AM on Tuesday,
May 29, 2001, and a press conference will immediately follow the
speech at 12:15 PM. The press is also invited to a reception at
09:30 AM at the same location.
Stallman’s speech will cover the importance of software freedom
and cooperation among programmers and users, and why the GNU
project developed the GNU General Public License to facilitate
sharing, cooperation and freedom.
To help correct the myths propagated by Mundie’s statements, the
Free Software Foundation has published a frequently asked question
(FAQ) list about the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL). This FAQ
list addresses many misconceptions about the GNU GPL. That FAQ list
is available at:
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl-faq.html
In Microsoft’s first attack against the GNU GPL earlier this
year, Jim Allchin of Microsoft, claimed the GNU GPL threatens the
American Way. Stallman responded with an essay that shows how the
GNU GPL reflects and embodies the American spirit. That essay is
available at: