Free Software Foundation Europe

Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to control technology.

Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our lives. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use, understand, adapt, and share software. These rights help support other fundamental rights like freedom of speech, freedom of press, and privacy. Learn more...

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Legal Corner: The threshold of originality for copyrightable source code

Community

As a general rule, software source code is protected by copyright by default. Copyright holders create Free Software by applying a Free Software license to their code. Creative works, such as source code, nevertheless must be sufficiently original in nature before they can be protected by copyright. Exactly what is this “threshold of originality”, and are there types of code that are not automatically protected by copyright? 

DMA +++ LLW 2025 +++ PMPC +++SFP

Newsletter

In April, our work on Device Neutrality continued with news and meetings on DMA; we had a PMPC meeting in Germany and talked about the German coalition agreement in one of our Podcast episodes; we also held our annual Legal & Licensing Workshop; and we published another article in our Legal Corner.  

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SFP#33: Policy and EU: Coalition treaty in Germany and its role for Free Software

Software Freedom Podcast

Recently, the German coalition treaty from the CDU/CSU and SPD has been published with over 140 pages. In our latest episode Alexander Sander and Bonnie Mehring talk about the coalition treaty and break down the standing of Free Software in it. 

Recent News
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Legal Corner: The threshold of originality for copyrightable source code
2025-05-15

DMA +++ LLW 2025 +++ PMPC +++SFP
2025-05-06

Simplifying FSFE translation process: integrating LibreTranslate
2025-04-29

Upcoming Events
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Youth Hacking 4 Freedom 2025: programming competition (online)
00:0101 January – 23:59 UTC 30 June 2025

FSFE Netherlands online get-together (online)
18:00 – 20:00 UTC 21 May 2025

DORS/CLUC : Keynote from Matthias Kirchsner and FSFE booth in Zagreb, Croatia
08:0022 – 19:00 UTC 23 May 2025

Our Community Get active...

I believe Free Software needs a voice at the national as well as the EU level in politics: Software does not exist in an isolated bubble, it's heavily dependent on the ecosystem that it lives in. In my opinion Free Software as well as open standards are key to creating a society that provides equal access.

Isabel Drost-Fromm (Software Engineer and Member of the Apache Software Foundation)

I'm a supporter of the FSFE as I want to sustain their work to promote Free Software. As a person that uses computers quite heavily every day, I'm very concerned with the current trend of locking down computing which is taking control away from the users. This is increasingly problematic since people's lives are more and more dependent on computers for personal communications, managing finances, employment, etc. Free Software is a necessary requirement for retaining control over your computing.

Mats Sjöberg (Machine learning specialist)

Think about these claims:
"It's better if we control how you may or may not use your tools."
"It's better if you don't know how your tools work."
"It's better if we forbid you to share your tools."
"It's better if you are not allowed to improve your tools."
If you find those as absurd as I do, you understand why I'm a Free Software activist.

Bernhard Weitzhofer (Public Servant)

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