Advantage Quote by Richard Stallman
“I figure that since proprietary software developers use copyright to stop us from sharing, we cooperators can use copyright to give other cooperators an advantage of their own: they can use our code.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: Free Software, the End of Proprietary Software, Richard Stallman, 1999
Cooperators can turn copyright into a tool for sharing, giving each other advantages through open code.
In simple terms: Use copyright to help others share.
Key Takeaway
Leverage legal tools for collaborative benefit.
Themes
open source
collaboration
intellectual property
ethics
Mood
determined
hopeful
Type
philosophical
activist
When to use this quote
- software development
- community projects
- legal strategy
- education
- policy making
Key Concepts
software freedom
commons
reciprocity
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we balance legal protection with open collaboration?
- What safeguards prevent abuse of this approach?
A Different Perspective
May conflict with existing licensing laws and enforcement.
![“Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then [these?], any man might instantly use what another had invented; so that the inventor had no special advantage from his own invention. The patent system changed this…” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/449/abraham-lincoln-88_adoption_next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in_1828.jpg)
