Science and technology play an important role in the evolution of human civilization. Every major
scientific discovery and its application have greatly improved human life. The invention and largescale application of the steam engine marked the beginning of the first industrial revolution and
ushered in an era in which machines replaced manual labor. With the invention and application of
electric power and internal combustion engines, the second industrial technology revolution began
and the continuing electrical era started. As computers and the Internet were invented, the third
technological revolution began, and human beings entered the information era and created a “Bit
World” that never existed before. Now that the “Bit World” has become a new land for mankind
with profound influence on human civilization.
Looking back at the history of information technology, there is a less-known development path with
profound influence: The Free Software Movement initiated by Richard M. Stallman in 1983. In
the early days of the computer industry, software was sent to users in the form of source code so
that users can make full use of their hardware in a reasonable way. With the application of copyright
law in the software field, software was authorized to users in binary form, representing the start of
the era of proprietary software. In this context, Richard M. Stallman launched the GNU project in
1983 to develop a free and complete operating system, ushering in the free software movement.
By the beginning of the 21st century, great progress has been made in the free software campaign,
including abundant software technologies, complete free software licenses, global community and
so on. The emergence of free and open source hardware such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi marks
the development of free and open source intellectual property rights movement from software to
hardware domain.
