LLW 2026: opening legal conversations at the heart of Berlin
Berlin hosted the Free Software Legal & Licensing Workshop 2026, bringing together over 100 legal and compliance professionals, technologists, and policy experts from all over the globe. LLW continued to explore the evolving legal landscapes impacting Free Software, with many discussions focusing on how software licensing is impacted by the advent of large language models and AI
The FSFE's Free Software Legal & Licensing Workshop (LLW) is an annual conference for members of the Legal Network community to meet face-to-face and share legal expertise. In 2026, the event moved to Berlin's Kreuzberg district, hosted at bUm, a venue dedicated to offering affordable coworking, networking, and event space for civil society organisations. True to its spirit, the LLW once again fostered the kind of collaborative environment where professionals can share insights, debate complex issues, build a cohesive understanding of the legal landscape affecting Free Software, and to grow a sense of community of those “who can hear tomorrow coming”, to borrow the words of David Bowie, who was referenced many times during the conference by his Legal Network fans.
“This is the one conference, which you just have to join. The one conference where everyone, everything the whole atmosphere reflects what a difference a community can make, the conference that lets us overcome the challenges we alle sometimes face [...] where history and experience count, where failure is okay, [...] all of this in one package, I couldn’t have wished for a better conference!Janneke van de Westelake, Syndikusrechtsanwältin Robert Bosch GmbH and LLW 2026 participant.
The schedule this year reflected a field in motion. Artificial intelligence has firmly moved to the centre of Free Software legal debate, while the workshop also tackled a dense agenda of regulatory and compliance topics shaping the European legislative landscape, including the Cyber Resilience Act, the Digital Markets Act, and the EU Digital Omnibus Regulation Proposal. Long-standing fundamentals of Free Software law and tooling were equally present across the talks, panels, and workshops. The LLW also continued its well-received mentorship programme, pairing newcomers to the Legal Network with experienced members over an informal breakfast ahead of the official programme.
Bowie, who made Berlin his creative home in the late 1970s, also offered what might work well as one of the mottos of the LLW community: "If you feel safe in the area you're working in, you're not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you're capable of being in – and when you don't feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you're just about in the right place to do something exciting." It is a sentiment that sits naturally with a community of legal professionals navigating some of the most unsettled and consequential terrain in technology law.
The FSFE extends its gratitude to all participants and sponsors whose support made LLW 2026 possible: our Diamond sponsors Mercedes and Red Hat; the Sapphire sponsors Amazon (AWS), Microsoft, and Siemens; Topaz sponsors Bosch, Ericsson, and Google; and our Ruby sponsors Bird & Bird, Eclipse Foundation, and Liferay.
The Legal Network
Licensing and legal decisions should be based on facts, rather than fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Free Software contributors should be able to focus on contributing to society without constantly worrying about legal issues. That is why it is important to have a space for experts to learned and discussed about these topics, not only yearly at LLW but also thanks to the Legal Network.
The Legal Network is a neutral, non-partisan group of experts in different fields involved in Free Software legal issues, currently counting over 400 participants from diverse legal systems, academic backgrounds, and affiliations.
Admission to the Legal Network is restricted, and the discussions held there are confidential. The Chatham House Rule applies to all discussions on the Legal Network mailing list and at Legal Network events, which enables members to use the information received, but not to reveal the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker or any of the participants involved in the discussion.