Ever wonder how copyright law fits into the ever-evolving and fluid world of today’s computer networks? Well known computer programmer and software freedom activist Richard Stallman will offer some thoughts on this issue Thursday, Feb. 25 at 4 p.m. in Olin Auditorium.
His talk, “Copyright vs. Community in the Age of Computer Networks,” is part of the College’s Computer Science Seminar Series.
“We bring in speakers from academia and industry to talk about current topics related to computer science,” said Kristina Striegnitz, assistant professor of computer science. “It’s an opportunity for our students to be exposed to topics that go beyond what's covered in classes, and see how the material they study is applied in different contexts.”
Stallman spends much of his time advocating for free software and campaigning against what he believes is excessive extension of copyright laws that suppress public access to technology.
In 1983, Stallman launched the GNU Project to create a free, Unix-like operating system. Today, the GNU system is used on tens of millions of computers, and everyone has the right to copy the software, redistribute it and make changes small or large.
Stallman has also founded the Free Software Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes universal freedom to create, distribute and modify computer software.
He is also visiting RPI and the University at Albany. Stallman’s invitation to area institutions was initiated by Clifton Park software company Kitware.
The Union lecture is free and open to the public. For more information on this event, and others, click here.