From info at sfconservancy.org Wed Jan 3 19:03:56 2024 From: info at sfconservancy.org (Software Freedom Conservancy) Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2024 09:03:56 -1000 Subject: Judge dismisses Vizio's call for summary judgment Message-ID: Judge dismisses Vizio's call for summary judgment SFC files own “Motion for Summary Adjudication” URL: https://sfconservancy.org/news/2024/jan/03/vizio-sj-rejected/ Social media: https://social.sfconservancy.org/notice/AdTgM86aQ1RtpKjIX2 https://x.com/conservancy/status/1742621004793512340 A very welcome victory in our case against Vizio [0] was presented last week. Judge Sandy Leal denied Vizio's Motion for Summary Judgment [1], allowing the case to proceed in state court. The Order echoes SFC arguments in court that the claim is not preempted by copyright law and that consumers like SFC have standing to enforce the GPL as third-party beneficiaries [2] to the GPL — without any action by copyright holders of copylefted code. The decision speaks clearly: “Allowing third parties such as SFC to enforce their rights to receive source code is not only consistent with the GPLs’ objectives; it is both essential and necessary to achieve these objectives. Recipients of GPL-licensed software will be assured of their right to receive source code only if they have standing to enforce that right.” and “… the Court finds that Plaintiff’s claim for breach of contract is not preempted by the Copyright Act, and Vizio’s motion for summary adjudication on this issue is DENIED” The full decision is available in its entirety here [3], and you can read the transcript from the oral arguments from the hearing [4]. With that decided, we now turn our focus to our own filing, a “Motion for Summary Adjudication”. An MSA is very similar to a motion for summary judgment, except that it does not fully resolve the entire case. Our MSA asks to resolve substantial parts of the case that are a matter of law. Our motion seeks to establish that distributors of GPL'd software, such as Vizio, have a duty to the recipients of the software, such as purchasers of Vizio TV sets, to provide the source code for the software upon request. Unfortunately many companies completely ignore source code requests from consumers, or do not provide complete corresponding source, when the license sets out their obligations clearly. We have asked to confirm that Vizio has a duty to us, as purchasers of their televisions, to make good on those obligations. In her order, Judge Leal acknowledged that this kind of power imbalance between corporations and recipients of copyleft software creates an inequity when it comes to receiving source code: “Defendant Vizio, as the licensee, is responsible for ensuring that it complies with the terms of the license. As such, it would be more equitable to allow third parties to assert claims against a licensee who fails to adhere to the terms and conditions of the license.” We focus on protecting the rights of all end users as third party beneficiaries and making sure that corporations who choose to use copyleft licenses are held accountable if they fail to follow the rules. As this case continues to unfold, we will continue to protect the freedoms given to us by copyleft licenses. This work is essential for the Software Right to Repair, and we will work to create legal mechanisms to ensure our devices are as free, open and repairable as possible. You can help fund our continuing work in this case by becoming a Sustainer [5] to our organization. We rely upon individuals to make the important work we do possible and if you make a contribution before January 15th during our annual fundraiser, our funding matchers will double your donation! [0] https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/vizio.html [1] https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/glossary.html#summary-judgment [2] https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/glossary.html#third-party-beneficiary [3] https://sfconservancy.org/docs/Order_Denying_Vizio_Motion_for_Summary_Judgement_12-29-23.pdf [4] https://sfconservancy.org/news/2023/oct/12/transcript-msj-hearing/ [5] https://sfconservancy.org/sustainer/#annual From info at sfconservancy.org Fri Jan 12 15:30:26 2024 From: info at sfconservancy.org (Software Freedom Conservancy) Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2024 07:30:26 -0800 Subject: Outreachy 2023: Year in Review Message-ID: Outreachy 2023: Year in Review URL: https://sfconservancy.org/news/2024/jan/11/outreachy-2023-year-in-review/ Social media: https://social.sfconservancy.org/notice/Adm2QaY3xEwzKnKHR2 https://twitter.com/conservancy/status/1745830431780651149 # Celebrating 14 Years of Impact In 2023, Outreachy marked a significant milestone in its 14-year journey by welcoming over 1,000 interns into the open source community. This remarkable achievement was commemorated through a series of 6 local celebrations across various countries and 3 virtual events, showcasing the global reach of Outreachy's impact. The celebrations served as a testament to the diversity and inclusivity that Outreachy champions. # Outreachy in 2023: By the Numbers Outreachy's impact in 2023 by the numbers tells a compelling story. Collaborating with 40 open source communities and engaging 191 mentors, Outreachy inspired 488 new open source contributors to embark on their open source journey. The open source communities saw an impressive 3,439 contributions merged from 764 applicants, showcasing the incredible impact of this program. The heart of Outreachy lies in the interns it supports. In 2023, 121 interns worked full-time on open source projects for three months each. This commitment was met with a distribution of $847,000 in internship stipends to people facing discrimination and systemic bias. Despite these achievements, the need for financial support remains urgent. It requires significant resources to continue this level of success. And with 1,936 applicants in 2023, there is a compelling case for increased funding to expand Outreachy and provide more opportunities for those eager to contribute to open source. If Outreachy had additional funding, we could support and recruit more mentors, directly fund more internships, and accept more interns from the 764 applicants who made open source contributions. # Outreachy Team Milestones ## 1. 1000th Intern Celebration The Outreachy organizing team played a big role in orchestrating the celebratory events. In addition to hitting the milestone of accepting the 1,000th Outreachy intern, the team organized 6 local celebrations and 3 virtual events. The local celebrations were held in 6 countries: Cameroon, Canada, India, Kenya, Nigeria, and the USA. Each celebration served as a testament to the global reach of Outreachy's impact and the diversity it fosters within the open source community. We also appreciate our alums who served as the leads for the local celebrations. These dedicated leads played a crucial role in organizing the events, ensuring that everyone at the event felt celebrated and included. Outreachy merch were also sent around the world, symbolizing the interconnectedness of the global Outreachy community. Photo albums capturing the vibrant moments of each celebration are available: Cameroon [0] Canada [1] India [2] Kenya [3] Nigeria [4] USA [5] These celebratory events not only recognized the interns but also acknowledged the vital role of mentors, coordinators, and the wider open source community. It was a moment to reflect on the collaborative efforts that have driven Outreachy to its current standing and set the stage for future endeavors. ## 2. Intern and Community Support The heart of Outreachy lies in its interns, and the team ensured their support throughout 2023. With 121 interns participating in the May and December cohorts, the Outreachy team encouraged personal connections through 1:1 meetings and a social hour. These initiatives aimed not only to facilitate professional growth but also to foster a sense of community among interns across diverse open source communities. ## 3. Applicant Empowerment Empowering applicants is a core focus of Outreachy, and in 2023, 1,936 applicants were approved to participate in the May and December contribution periods. To enhance the application process, the team increased initial application reviewers to 17, providing a more comprehensive and supportive review process. Live Q&A sessions were conducted to help applicants navigate open source community practises and understand the Outreachy application process better. ## 4. Mentor and Coordinator Engagement The involvement of mentors and community coordinators is crucial to Outreachy's success. In 2023, 191 mentors supported interns in the May and December cohorts, showcasing the growing mentorship network. The team addressed challenges faced by mentors through discussion sessions at three different conferences. Outreachy's commitment to mentorship extended to encouraging interns to become mentors, resulting in 30 mentors who were past Outreachy interns – a significant increase from previous years. To further support mentors, a full-time Outreachy mentor advocate - Tilda Udufo was hired, reflecting the dedication to enhancing the mentorship experience. The team also conducted office hours, providing a platform for mentors and coordinators to seek guidance during critical phases such as the community sign-up period, contribution period, and internship period. ## 5. Embracing Open Source Outreachy's commitment to open source and software freedom extended beyond its internship program. The team embraced platforms like Mastodon, PeerTube, NextCloud, Big Blue Button, Espanso, and Etherpad, showcasing a dedication to using and promoting open source software. This move not only aligns with Outreachy's values but also sets an example for the wider community. ## 6. Community Engagement Outreachy didn't limit its impact to its own community. The team actively spoke about Outreachy at 14 different events and meet-ups, amplifying the message of diversity and inclusion in open source. These engagements provided opportunities to share insights, inspire new contributors, and foster collaborations with like-minded organizations. Outreachy organizers gave a keynote at FOSSY to celebrate 1,000 interns and talk about Outreachy's history: https://archive.org/details/fossy2023-outreachy-celebration Outreachy organizers also attended the following conferences: - Diversity and Inclusion in Scientific Computing (DISC) Unconference by NumFocus, PyData Amsterdam, and PyCon Uganda: Report [6] - OSCA fest: Report and Video [7][8] - Euro Python: Report and Video [9][10] - Django Africa: Report [11] - Open Life Science program (Open Seed Cohort 8): Report [12] - Dublin Developer Relations Meetup (August 2023): Report / Video [13][14] - Women TechMakers Karu branch, Abuja FCT, Nigeria: Report [15] - FOSS Backstage (Dinner with Outreachy mentors): Report [16] - CZI LatAm meeting: Report [17] - FOSSY: Report [18] - DevFest Cerrado: Report [19] - Angola Open Source Community's The Open Source Café: Video [20] # Looking Ahead to 2024 As Outreachy gears up for the May 2024 cohort, the team is committed to continuous improvement. Beyond the usual operations, the Outreachy team has identified key areas for development: Better mentor support: The Outreachy team will continue to offer more chances for mentors to connect through office hours, group chats, public Q&A sessions, and private advice sessions. Spotlighting Outreachy mentors: The Outreachy team will be running a series of online chats and blog posts to acknowledge and spotlight the awesome work Outreachy mentors do to support interns and applicants. Improved website experience: The Outreachy team will work on user experience improvements for mentors and coordinators. Partnering with organizations: The Outreachy team will explore partnerships with other organizations to increase the reach of our call for mentors. Updated longitudinal study: Building on the success of the 2019 longitudinal study, Outreachy is set to conduct another study in 2024. This updated version will provide valuable insights into the program's impact and areas for further enhancement. Outreachy remains steadfast in its mission to foster diversity and inclusion in open source, and with the ongoing support of the community, the future looks promising for creating lasting positive change. The collaborative efforts of interns, mentors, coordinators, and supporters are shaping a more inclusive and vibrant software freedom landscape. # Support Outreachy: Your Contribution Matters! Please donate by January 15 [21] If you appreciate Outreachy's work, we encourage you to donate to Software Freedom Conservancy's yearly fundraiser by January 15, 2023. Outreachy is a core part of Software Freedom Conservancy. Outreachy would not exist without the support of Software Freedom Conservancy. Link to original post. [22] [0] https://nextcloud.sfconservancy.org/apps/photos/public/Jx00FZsOIpRSs6pdOKEvO9MwtLFkJmDp [1] https://nextcloud.sfconservancy.org/apps/photos/public/BPGgZtATkaKO2RIq6aASC7IKztV6qMCy [2] https://nextcloud.sfconservancy.org/apps/photos/public/dnE0ZILO4SL5SMCmmaW55tX9EASDt9eu [3] https://nextcloud.sfconservancy.org/apps/photos/public/9wamsHiEET5DcZsVDXDfIpqMRh0HnDme [4] https://nextcloud.sfconservancy.org/apps/photos/public/NuGmPTnQma2dDwXeNZlqMTrlf9VkyX83 [5] https://nextcloud.sfconservancy.org/apps/photos/public/kybQNVHcmk81KCSraILEOnm0bWUgucHa [6] https://medium.com/@omotolaEO/september-2023-productive-by-stretch-6e80afe36ac1 [7] https://medium.com/@omotolaEO/june-2023-milestone-celebration-and-open-source-festival-d9eedb4fc7d1 [8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kBykVyiPpw%22 [9] https://medium.com/@omotolaEO/outreachy-at-europython-2023-d8dd7917d02 [10] https://youtu.be/423gqlGBT0Y [11] https://medium.com/@omotolaEO/outreachy-report-november-2023-6e9b0b1137eb [12] https://medium.com/@omotolaEO/outreachy-report-november-2023-6e9b0b1137eb [13] https://medium.com/@omotolaEO/august-2023-wrapping-up-a-round-and-getting-ready-for-the-next-200a618d6142 [14] https://youtu.be/m0EZlz689EI?si=MFB0lXM80KGVGr8z [15] https://medium.com/@omotolaEO/outreachy-report-may-2023-4f8e05355c4f [16] https://medium.com/@omotolaEO/a-journey-to-berlin-networking-e3d7ee41a97d [17] https://anna.flourishing.stream/reports/2023/05/01/outreachy-report-april-2023/ [18] https://anna.flourishing.stream/reports/2023/07/25/outreachy-report-july-2023/ [19] https://anna.flourishing.stream/reports/2023/11/30/outreachy-report-november-2023/ [20] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZMH6vbfkFY%22 [21] https://sfconservancy.org/sustainer/ [22] https://www.outreachy.org/blog/2024-01-11/outreachy-2023-in-review/ From info at sfconservancy.org Mon Feb 5 17:06:53 2024 From: info at sfconservancy.org (Software Freedom Conservancy) Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2024 18:06:53 +0100 Subject: Use the Source! A Revolution in Grassroots Software Right to Repair Message-ID: Use the Source! A Revolution in Grassroots Software Right to Repair SFC launches key tool in the fight for user rights at FOSDEM URL: https://sfconservancy.org/news/2024/feb/03/use-the-source-launched/ Social media: https://social.sfconservancy.org/notice/AeZuz7AzbSL17wENAe Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) today announced at FOSDEM an innovative new community tool in the software right to repair: Use The Source [0]. Use The Source is an elegant collaborative platform for users to catalog, find and test source code candidates for real products to verify their reproducibility and reinstallability. Users can discuss whether their device's software is repairable, so they know if the device can be fixed or updated, especially to fix security vulnerabilities or otherwise adapt it to their needs. Most consumer electronics ship with software that is provided under various copyleft licenses that (ostensibly) guarantee the consumers' right to software repair. Owners of these devices have a right to receive the complete source code for that software. Sadly, too often, the source isn't provided at all. Even when some source is provided, the provided source is usually incomplete. Use The Source seeks to be a hub for collaboration in solving this problem. Based on the ideals and methodologies behind successful FOSS projects, Use The Source provides device owners an outlet to share and discuss how they reviewed source code candidates that companies provide to them, so they can determine, with the community's help, whether they can truly repair and modify the device's software. SFC encourages device owners to first test the offers for source code for all their products, and then share the source candidates they have received. This Use The Source initiative harkens back to the beloved but now defunct mailing lists of gpl-violations.org [1]. In their heyday, these mailing lists were a central place for those who cared about their rights under copyleft licenses to learn from each other. On those lists, the early FOSS community learned how to make effective use of compliant source, and how to demand that source if none is provided or it is incomplete. SFC is acutely aware that, for the last decade since those resources disappeared, the skills and knowledge in the FOSS community has atrophied. SFC feels an obligation to use our expertise to launch a community to rebuild these skills in the volunteer core of FOSS, and to otherwise teach and educate about what we know and how we do. As always, SFC plans to follow its Principles of Community-Oriented GPL Enforcement [2] in this process. SFC has developed a timeline [3] for companies who wish to actively participate in resolving any concerns, based on the importance of promptly fixing source candidates that are not in compliance with copyleft terms [4]. Our process balances the urgent need to publish and discuss source candidates with the common desire of for-profit companies to remain anonymous while they correct inadvertent GPL violations. SFC encourages anyone interested to review the source code candidates on our Use The Source [5] platform, and to submit any source code candidates they find, so the community can build its knowledge and experience in reviewing and assessing source candidates for their compliance with the copyleft licenses that companies choose to use. You can also join our ccs-review mailing list [6], where the public can engage with SFC and other official Use The Source commenters in discussing the published source candidates as well. Source candidates and comments from Use The Source will auto-post to the ccs-review list so you can see and react to what we're doing in real time. We hope that our discussions will eventually lead to a much higher percentage of source candidates being in compliance with the software right to repair licenses they use. With compliant source code candidates, device owners can keep themselves secure, adapt to their future needs, and ensure others can do the same, by themselves or by working with the community or third-party repair services to give them the freedoms that software right to repair licenses have always intended to convey. [0] https://sfconservancy.org/usethesource/ [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20141022025510/http://lists.gpl-violations.org:80/pipermail/legal/ [2] https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/principles.html [3] https://sfconservancy.org/usethesource/ccirt-process/ [4] https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2024/feb/03/ccirt-security-and-software-right-to-repair/ [5] https://sfconservancy.org/usethesource/ [6] https://lists.sfconservancy.org/mailman/listinfo/ccs-review From info at sfconservancy.org Thu Mar 28 20:21:40 2024 From: info at sfconservancy.org (Software Freedom Conservancy) Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2024 13:21:40 -0700 Subject: FOSSY is back in Portland - August 1-4th at Portland State University Message-ID: FOSSY is back in Portland - August 1-4th at Portland State University url: https://sfconservancy.org/news/2024/mar/28/fossy-2024/ Social Media: https://social.sfconservancy.org/notice/AgJzM4zu6rCaMjLwRc https://x.com/conservancy/status/1773444538109170131 Join us at FOSSY [0] this year, Thursday August 1st - Sunday August 4th at the Portland State University Smith Memorial Student Union. We're looking forward to convening another conference that shows the multiple facets of what it means to work with, advocate for, and build free software in community. Last year we had over 300 attendees from over 10 countries! There was an incredible diversity of community led tracks, covering FOSS for Education, Right to Repair, Worker-Owner Co-ops that write and use FOSS, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and FOSS, to name a few. This year we hope to see a return of some of the great tracks and ideas that inspired us and an introduction of new tracks. If you would like to host a track, please consider applying to our community track proposals [1]. We will be hosting office hours at 19:00 UTC on Tuesdays and Thursdays on our XMPP/ IRC channel [2] if you would like to chat with someone about your proposal. Please help us make the event a success by sponsoring at one of our tree themed tiers (Giant Sequoia, Redwood, Douglas Fir) or by providing coffee, transit, or A/V. If you or your organization would like more information here is our sponsorship prospectus [3] or you can contact us at conference at sfconservancy.org for more information. Come join us for what we hope will be a beautiful summer weekend in Portland, OR, packed with community led discussions about what the future of free software looks like. We can't wait to see you there, so mark your calendars! [0] https://fossy.us/ [1] https://sfconservancy.org/fossy/community-tracks/ [2] https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2021/jun/21/chat-options/ [3] https://sfconservancy.org/docs/FOSSY-2024-Prospectus.pdf From info at sfconservancy.org Thu May 23 17:58:59 2024 From: info at sfconservancy.org (Software Freedom Conservancy) Date: Thu, 23 May 2024 10:58:59 -0700 Subject: FOSSY CFP and ticket sales are open! Message-ID: FOSSY 2024 CFP announcement Submit before June 14th URL: https://sfconservancy.org/news/2024/may/23/fossy-2024-cfp-announcement/ Social media: https://social.sfconservancy.org/notice/AiBrA5HvRMbtFqrHyy https://x.com/conservancy/status/1793701732704510213 FOSSY 2024 CFP and ticket sales are now open! Join us in Portland, OR on August 1-4th at Portland State University. This year our track selection [0] runs the gamut from Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Supporting User Groups, FOSS in Education, Reproducibility and much much more. Whether you are a veteran of the FOSS conference circuit, or just starting your speaking career, we want to hear from you! FOSSY is a community focused conference focused on being accessible and highlighting the incredible work happening in free software. To submit a talk, please visit our Call for Proposals [1] page to make an account and enter your talk under a specific track. If you aren't sure which track you fit into, or feel you are a bit outside the scope for any of the listed tracks, use the Wild card track. We are also soliciting panel suggestions for our keynotes, (which last year included a celebration for Outreachy's 1000th intern celebration [2] and a timely community discussion about RHEL's licensing [3]). Our CFP will be open until June 14th (with notice of acceptance the week of the 24th) so be sure to find us on IRC #conservancy on Libera.chat, XMPP or email. We will start having office hours at 19:00 UTC on Tuesdays and Thursdays in our chat room for anyone to come and ask questions. Along with the opening of the CFP, we have opened ticket sales. If you'd like to provide extra support for the conference you can buy the $1,000 ticket. We also have professional tickets at $500, community tickets at $200, and discounted tickets at $35. If your company is interested in sponsoring the event, you can find our Sponsorship Prospectus here [4]. You can email conference at sfconservancy.org if you have any questions, we can't wait to see you in August! [0] https://2024.fossy.us/pages/tracks/ [1] https://2024.fossy.us/call-for-proposals/ [2] https://www.outreachy.org/ [3] https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2023/jul/19/rhel-panel-fossy-2023/ [4] https://sfconservancy.org/static/docs/FOSSY-2024-Prospectus.pdf From info at sfconservancy.org Thu Oct 17 21:35:53 2024 From: info at sfconservancy.org (Software Freedom Conservancy) Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2024 14:35:53 -0700 Subject: FOSSY 2025 dates announced! Message-ID: Save the date for FOSSY 2025! Submit track proposals now URL: https://sfconservancy.org/news/2024/oct/17/FOSSY-2025-announcement/ Social media: https://social.sfconservancy.org/notice/An6sAMuCZFjc7oJllw https://x.com/conservancy/status/1847027548926206083 Mark you calendars - FOSSY will return July 31 to August 3, 2025! [0] The next iteration of FOSSY will once again take place at the Portland State University Smith Memorial Student Union. Once again, FOSSY will feature community led tracks on a variety of topics relevant to Free and Open Source Software. You can submit your track proposals now! [1] We will consider repeat tracks that were particularly successful and new tracks that have significant community interest on a rolling basis so they can be announced as early as possible. We are also excited about tracks that may be smaller or that represent new ideas, but we will wait until all track proposals are received by February 15 to announce the final tracks on February 16. We expect to open the CfP on March 3rd. Feel free to reach out to us if you would like to discuss an idea for a track. Either conference at sfconservancy.org or on our XMPP [2] / IRC channel #conservancy on libera.chat. Also be sure to check out the videos [3] from last year's FOSSY. Please also considering recommending sponsorship to your company. The prospectus for FOSSY 2025 is here [4] and contains a variety of sponsorship levels. We can't wait to see you in Portland at the end of July! [0] https://2025.fossy.us/ [1] https://sfconservancy.org/fossy/community-tracks/ [2] xmpp:general at chat.sfconservancy.org?join [3] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKZPkdh3W2BLS8IgeeJ8dxCarexgvMH2b [4] https://sfconservancy.org/static/docs/2025-prospectus.pdf From info at sfconservancy.org Fri Oct 25 20:48:54 2024 From: info at sfconservancy.org (Software Freedom Conservancy) Date: Fri, 25 Oct 2024 13:48:54 -0700 Subject: SFC Announces Aspirational Statement on LLM-backed generative AI for Programming References: <87sesj3oer.fsf@ebb.org> Message-ID: <87ldyb3o3t.fsf@ebb.org> SFC Announces Aspirational Statement on LLM-backed generative AI for Programming Main URL: https://sfconservancy.org/news/2024/oct/25/aspirational-on-llm-generative-ai-programming/ Fediverse: https://social.sfconservancy.org/notice/AnNIXuHBBEJUKN5I80 In 2022, Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) [0] convened a committee in the wake of Microsoft's GitHub Copilot announcement [1], to meet and begin considering the complex questions that arise from the use of large language models (LLMs) in generative AI systems that seek to assist software developers. Today, we announce a joint statement by this committee [2], entitled Machine-Learning-Assisted Programming that Respects User Freedom. Everyone on our committee has watched as interest in this issue has grown in the FOSS community. While the Committee was initially convened to consider how copyleft related to these systems, our focus changed as we considered the complex issues. With the unending influx of models, products, and projects in this area, we began to see a potential dystopia: no systems available today are reproducible by the public, and all of them seem to disrespect user rights and freedoms in some manner. Rather than despair, we turned our minds to what FOSS does best: imagining the ideal if corporate interests were not the primary force defining society's relationship with software. In the past, the FOSS community has responded to new challenges with a race-to-the-bottom document that defines the bare minimum of user rights and freedoms that the community of activists will accept. For-profit companies hope to legitimately claim whatever they produce is “FOSS enough”. As such, we have avoided any process that effectively auto-endorses the problematic practices of companies whose proprietary products are already widely deployed . No system, particularly a proprietary one, should ever be "too big to fail". While our proposal may seem unrealistic, nearly every proposal in the history of FOSS has seemed unrealistic — until it happened. We call on the FOSS community to not lament what is, but to dream and strive for what can be. The statement follows: Machine-Learning-Assisted Programming that Respects User Freedom There has been intense industry ballyhoo about a specific branch of Artificial Intelligence (AI): generative AI backed by large language models (LLMs). We have reached an era in computing history where input data sets for many different types of works are quite large (after decades of Internet content archiving), and hardware is powerful enough to rebuild LLMs repetitively. As FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) activists, we must turn at least a modicum of attention to the matter, lest its future be dominated by the same proprietary software companies that have curtailed user rights for so long. LLM-backed generative AI impacts the rights of everyone — including developers, creators, and users. Software freedom, both in theory and practice, yields substantial public good. Yet, traditional, narrow FOSS analysis has boundaries and confines; it's inadequate when applied to these technologies. We propose an aspirational vision of a FOSS, LLM-backed generative AI system for computer-assisted programming that software rights supporters would be proud to use and improve. This narrow approach is by design. We are keenly cognizant that LLMs have been built for myriad works — from visual art, to the spoken human voice, to music, to literature, to actors' performances. However, this document focuses on systems that employ LLM-backed generative AI to assist programmers because such systems have a critical role in the future of FOSS. While the impact of AI-based programming assistants' in the daily life of programmers remains unclear (in the long term), it seems likely that AI assistants have the potential to advance FOSS goals around the democratization of software development. For example, such systems help newcomers get started with unfamiliar codebases. We must look hopefully to these technologies and seek ways to deploy them that help everyone. Aspirational Target for a Software-Rights-Respecting AI Assisted Programming System The ideal system for generative-AI-assisted programming should have the following properties: 1. The system is built using only FOSS, and is used only for the creation of FOSS, and never for proprietary software. In this manner, the system would propagate and improve interest in software freedom and rights. 2. The system must respect the principle of “FOSS in, FOSS out, and FOSS throughout”. In detail, this means: 2(a). All software and generally useful technical information (including but not limited to: user interface code and applications for generating new material from the model, data cleaning code, model architecture, hyper parameters, model weights, and the model itself) needed to create the system are freely available to the public under a FOSS license [3]. 2(b). All training data should be fully identified, and available freely and publicly on the Internet, under a FOSS license. 3. The system will aid the user in adding necessary licensing notices and determining any licensing requirements [4] of the output. As an aspirational document, this is not intended to be prescriptive nor definitional. We describe the absolute ideal LLM-backed generative AI system for FOSS that we can imagine. Articulating the ideal paves the road to understanding why common consensus remains insufficient. We must be the change we want in the world, and strive for what is right — until the politically unviable becomes viable. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ References / Footnotes: [0] https://sfconservancy.org/news/2022/feb/23/committee-ai-assisted-software-github-copilot/ [1] https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2022/feb/03/github-copilot-copyleft-gpl/ [2] https://sfconservancy.org/activities/aspirational-statement-on-llm-generative-ai-for-programming.html [3] It is well established that FOSS activists consider it a moral imperative to share any generally useful technical information under a FOSS license. As such, we should not tolerate any portion of the software and generally useful technical information released under a license that is non-FOSS. [4] Since recitation (i.e., verbatim repeating of parts of the training set) is known to occur in these systems, we know they will occasionally output Works Based on the training set, so our ideal system would be capable of notifying the user that recitation occurred and properly mark the licensing for it. Public discussion of this announcement is welcome on the ai-assist mailing list: https://lists.copyleft.org/pipermail/ai-assist/2024-October/000036.html https://lists.copyleft.org/mailman/listinfo/ai-assist -- Become a Conservancy Supporter Now: https://sfconservancy.org/supporter/ From info at sfconservancy.org Thu Oct 31 21:10:39 2024 From: info at sfconservancy.org (Software Freedom Conservancy) Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2024 14:10:39 -0700 Subject: Success in the DMCA triennial Message-ID: Success in the DMCA triennial URL: https://sfconservancy.org/news/2024/oct/31/success-in-2024-dmca-exemptions/ Social media: https://social.sfconservancy.org/notice/AnZr3wA9iwUwcNqKTQ https://x.com/conservancy/status/1852094626213265560 Software Freedom Conservancy is proud to announce its successful work in the latest triennial DMCA exemption process to stand up for the rights of FOSS developers. This week, the Copyright Office granted all of the exemptions we requested, according to the final rule Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies [0]. Due to these rulings, the LoC renewed the DMCA exemptions SFC established for the jailbreaking of routers and smart TVs, and for investigating copyleft compliance. Our executive director, Karen Sandler, also successfully participated in a coalition of medical device researchers in a request to renew the exemption for medical devices. SFC's Director of Compliance, Denver Gingerich, also participated and gave testimony during the hearings [1] (for Computer Programs—Repair, led by iFixit and discussed below) when the LoC was looking for expert opinion. In their rule making, the Librarian of Congress fully summarized our submission regarding license investigations, concluding that we "demonstrated personal knowledge and experience regarding the exemption." Jailbreaking of routers + smart TVs This is technically two separate exemptions, one for routing equipment and one for smart TVs, but the Copyright office referred to them together in their ruling, showing that we are making progress in advocating for the critical need for consumers to retain control of their own equipment across different types of devices. The exemptions allow the so called jailbreaking of these devices for alternative firmware that extends the lifetime of the devices as well as expands software capabilities. We are especially happy to receive this exemption for our member project OpenWrt [2], a critically important piece of software. Another exemption was for "smart televisions" which "includes both internet-enabled televisions, as well as devices that are physically separate from a television and whose primary purpose is to run software applications". This is great news for streaming devices which have alternative firmwares and also the whole swath of free software that can run on such devices. Protecting consumers from "planned obsolescence" by extending the lifetime of their devices, as well as protecting our freedoms by allowing us to run our own software on the devices. License investigation We're also proud of the exemption for circumvention of technological measures for purposes of investigating and confirming violations of FOSS license. To see the Library of Congress recognize the importance of protecting software licensing shows just how far we've come in terms of FOSS advocacy. This explicitly allows license investigation to continue, and we at Software Freedom Conservancy hope that others will take up the cause of holding device manufacturers accountable to their use of copyleft and other FOSS licensed software so that people can exercise their software freedom rights. This ruling, regrettably, continues to disallow such investigation into video game consoles, but we believe that, with persistence, the LoC will come to see that these general purpose computers that happen to play video games, also require the same kind of exemptions. This renewed exemption is vitally important to the future of free software, as without understanding what software is running on our devices, we are unable to guarantee that licensing terms are met, that newcomers are informed that they have rights with respect to their software and our freedoms for using free software are preserved. Medical devices Our Executive Director Karen Sandler, along with Hugo Campos and Jay Radcliffe, filed for DMCA exemptions to medical devices which was submitted and defended by the USC Gould School of Law. The request [3] was signed by Karen, and cited the difficulty she had accessing the information on her defibrillator during 2023 [4]. This exemption dovetails with requests made my small companies seeking to gain the right to repair medical equipment during this triennial process, which were also successful. Onwards Seeing the Librarian of Congress continue to grant our exemptions shows that the work we are doing is being received well by governmental entities. Without such advocacy, the power corporations have over our technology would be reducing innovation, harming our freedom, and stifling our voices. The work that SFC does in protecting and defending digital rights is expansive and this policy work is just one way that we are dedicated to defending our rights. We would also like to point out that iFixit filed an exemption for "Computer Programs—Repair of Motorized Land Vehicles, Marine Vessels, or Mechanized Agricultural, Vehicles or Vessels" which helps protect the software right to repair for vehicles including farm equipment like tractors. In an increasingly software driven world, the importance of protecting all our technology incredibly vital. Our relationship with iFixit and various right to repair organizations has shown how important this kind of intersectional approach to activism and advocacy is. Many thanks for our General Counsel, Rick Sanders, who drafted and shepherded these filings. [0] https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/10/28/2024-24563/exemption-to-prohibition-on-circumvention-of-copyright-protection-systems-for-access-control [1] https://www.copyright.gov/1201/2024/hearings.html [2] https://openwrt.org/ [3] https://www.copyright.gov/1201/2024/petitions/renewal/Renewal%20Pet.%20-%20Medical%20Device%20Data%20-%20Coalition%20of%20Medical%20Device%20Patients%20and%20Researchers.pdf [4] https://www.kuleuven.be/events/en/lecture-karen-sandler-softwarerights From info at sfconservancy.org Tue Nov 26 21:07:48 2024 From: info at sfconservancy.org (Software Freedom Conservancy) Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2024 16:07:48 -0500 Subject: 2024 Fundraiser launches with historic match challenge! Message-ID: 2024 Fundraiser launches with historic match challenge! $204,887 for software freedom pledged URL: https://sfconservancy.org/news/2024/nov/26/2024-fundraiser/ Social media: https://social.sfconservancy.org/notice/AoRfduCsfCAg5tlhZ2 https://x.com/conservancy/status/1861503209270907101 The 2024 Software Freedom Conservancy match fundraiser launches today with an historic $204,887 match total! That means for every dollar you donate before January 15th 2025, our generous individual matchers will donate the same, making your donation go twice as far until we reach our goal! SFC prides itself on being funding by individuals like you, who believe that software freedom is a right for everyone. Our matchers include people giving large donations but also people who are giving small amounts as their budget allows because they care about software freedom. This year, we're so grateful to highlight Sustainers Kyle Wiens (CEO of iFixit), Holger Kienle, Emily Dunham, and Patrick Masson. Look forward to some interviews about what makes software freedom important to them and why they continue to support our mission driven work. We have been extremely busy this year! [0] Our pursuit of copyleft compliance ramps up with completely new efforts like Use the Source [1] and coalition building with Right to Repair groups. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion within free software remains a priority, and programs like Outreachy [2] continue to serve and grow our community. Software Freedom Conservancy has always spoken to current issues and trends in technology; we think it's incredibly important to stand up for all users and our fundamental digital freedoms. In that vein we've spoken out at various regulatory processes, technology conferences and created an aspirational statement on generative AI. [3] We see the technology as secondary, serving people should always be first. Our member projects dedicated to providing freedom respecting technology have achieved major successes this year, like the hardware project, the OpenWrt One [4] (which will be generally available by the end of the year), improved supply chain security [5] and high quality tooling for open standards [6]. You can read a detailed account of what we've been up to in our Year in Review [7]. Please renew or become a Sustainer now [8] and help us kick off this fundraising season. [0] https://sfconservancy.org/sustainer/#YearInReview [1] https://sfconservancy.org/usethesource/ [2] https://outreachy.org/ [3] https://sfconservancy.org/news/2024/oct/25/aspirational-on-llm-generative-ai-programming/ [4] https://one.openwrt.org/ [5] https://reproducible-builds.org/success-stories/ [6] https://inkscape.org/news/2024/10/13/inkscape-launches-version-14-powerful-new-accessib/ [7] https://sfconservancy.org/sustainer/#YearInReview [8] https://sfconservancy.org/sustainer/ From info at sfconservancy.org Fri Nov 29 18:49:07 2024 From: info at sfconservancy.org (Software Freedom Conservancy) Date: Fri, 29 Nov 2024 10:49:07 -0800 Subject: First Router Designed Specifically For OpenWrt Released =?utf-8?Q?=E2=80=94?= The New OpenWrt One on sale now for $89 =?utf-8?Q?=E2=80=94?= Ultimate Gift for Right-To-Repair Enthusiasts Message-ID: <87ed2tooyk.fsf@ebb.org> FIRST ROUTER DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR OPENWRT RELEASED The New OpenWrt One on sale now for $89 Ultimate Gift for Right-To-Repair Enthusiasts URL: https://sfconservancy.org/news/2024/nov/29/openwrt-one-wireless-router-now-ships-black-friday/ Social Media: https://social.sfconservancy.org/notice/AoXjtsdYBn0Ut3WaJ6 https://x.com/conservancy/status/1862566921952203140 Today, we at SFC, along with our OpenWrt member project, announce the production release of the OpenWrt One. This is the first wireless Internet router designed and built with your software freedom and right to repair in mind. The OpenWrt One will never be locked down and is forever unbrickable. This device services your needs as its owner and user. Everyone deserves control of their computing. The OpenWrt One takes a great first step toward bringing software rights to your home: you can control your own network with the software of your choice, and ensure your right to change, modify, and repair it as you like. The OpenWrt One demonstrates what's possible when hardware designers and manufacturers prioritize your software right to repair; OpenWrt One exuberantly follows these requirements of the copyleft licenses of Linux and other GPL'd programs. This device provides the fully copyleft-compliant source code release from the start. Device owners have all the rights as intended on Day 1; device owners are encouraged to take full advantage of these rights to improve and repair the software on their OpenWrt One. Priced at US$89 for a complete OpenWrt One with case [1] (or US$68.42 for a caseless One's logic board [2]), it's ready for a wide variety of use cases. Manufactured in collaboration with Banana Pi, the OpenWrt One uses the MediaTek MT7981B SoC, with MT7976C wifi, 1 GiB DDR4 RAM, 128 MiB SPI NAND + 4 MiB SPI NOR flash, two Ethernet ports (2.5 GbE and 1 GbE), a USB host port, M.2 2042 for NVMe SSD or similar devices, and mikroBUS expansion header. The OpenWrt offers both PoE (Power over Ethernet) via the 2.5 GbE port , or direct power via the USB-C power port with 12V USB-PD. A convenient USB serial interface is built into the other USB-C port: expert users won't miss any boot messages! This hacker-friendly device is unbrickable, providing a switch to separately flash the NOR and NAND portions of the flash memory. This new product has completed full FCC compliance tests; it's confirmed that OpenWrt met all of the FCC compliance requirements. Industry “conventional wisdom” often argues that FCC requirements somehow conflict with the software right to repair. SFC has long argued that's pure FUD. We at SFC and OpenWrt have now proved copyleft compliance, the software right to repair, and FCC requirements are all attainable in one product! You can order an OpenWrt One now! Since today is the traditional day in the USA when folks buy gifts for love ones, we urge you to invest in a wireless router that can last! We do expect that for orders placed today, sellers will deliver by December 22 in most countries. Everyone can purchase a complete OpenWrt One with case [1] or just the board [2] via the links below (and other sale outlets, too). Regardless of where you buy from, for every purchase of a new OpenWrt One, a US$10 donation will go to the OpenWrt earmarked fund at Software Freedom Conservancy. Your purchase not only improves your software right to repair, but also helps OpenWrt and SFC continue to improve the important software and software freedom on which we all rely! For more on the OpenWrt One, and the role it plays in promoting software freedom, check out our blog post, “OpenWrt One: manufacturing software freedom”, by Denver Gingerich that will be posted next week. As you've probably heard, we're in the middle of our annual fundraiser so check that out too! Donations are being matched now for a limited time! [3] References: [1] https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007795779282.html [2] https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008143000598.html [3] https://sfconservancy.org/news/2024/nov/26/2024-fundraiser/ -- Become a Conservancy Sustainer Now: https://sfconservancy.org/sustainer/ From info at sfconservancy.org Mon Dec 30 20:31:41 2024 From: info at sfconservancy.org (Software Freedom Conservancy) Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2024 12:31:41 -0800 Subject: End of year AMA with SFC Staff and Directors - December 30th and 31st! Message-ID: As we get close to the New Year, we'd like to invite you to the last set of Q&A's of the 2024 with SFC staff — including our Executive Director Karen Sandler and Policy Fellow Bradley M. Kuhn. This is one of our favorite times of year when we get to hear from you during an “Ask Me Anything” session. Come ask us your burning questions and what we see as the new ideas in software freedom for 2025! We'd love to connect with you, even if just for a new years hang out. The first Q&A is today at the following times around the world: Monday 30 December 2024 at 6PM (18:00) US/Pacific (-0800) Monday 30 December 2024 at 9PM (21:00) US/Eastern (-0500) Tuesday 31 December 2024 at 1PM (13:00) Australia/East (+1100) date -d “2024-12-31 02:00 UTC” # to find your local time The second will be tomorrow: Tuesday 31 December 2024 at 9:30 (09:30) US/Pacific (-0800) Tuesday 31 December 2024 at 12:30PM (12:30) US/Eastern (-0500) Tuesday 31 December 2024 at 6:30PM (18:30) Europe/Central (+0100) date -d “2024-12-31 17:30 UTC” # to find your local time Calendar invites (.ics files) are attached for both sessions! You can find the link to our BigBlueButton video conferencing room here: https://bbb.sfconservancy.org/b/pon-nxm-psh-pek We've raised over half of the match challenge amount in our fundraiser so far, with a little over 2 weeks left. We're getting in reach of our goal of $409,774, with just about $100,000 left to go. Please give what you can to double your donation on our way to our largest goal yet! If you are in the US, now is a great time to sneak your tax deductible donation in before the end of the year: https://sfconservancy.org/sustainer Can't wait to see you! — Software Freedom Conservancy -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: SFC-Q&A-1.ics Type: text/calendar Size: 772 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: SFC-Q&A-2.ics Type: text/calendar Size: 783 bytes Desc: not available URL: