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League for Programming Freedom
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<p>League for Programming Freedom (LPF) was founded in 1989 by <a href="/facts/Richard_Stallman/hhoPN0Mw">Richard Stallman</a> to unite <a href="/facts/Free_software/IaoVtJXn">free software</a> developers as well as developers of <a href="/facts/Proprietary_software/9zcskxYL">proprietary software</a> to fight against <a href="/facts/Software_patent/wI6RrYh3">software patents</a> and the extension of the scope of <a href="/facts/Copyright/7GHEWEx9">copyright</a>. Their logo is the <a href="/facts/Statue_of_Liberty/TlymQ7JI">Statue of Liberty</a> holding a <a href="/facts/Floppy_disk/rShxfuxa">floppy disk</a> and <a href="/facts/Magnetic_tape_data_storage/qJUpJnk9">tape spool</a>. </p><p>Among other initiatives, the League started the "Burn all <a href="/facts/Graphics_Interchange_Format/HfIBWrIC">GIFs</a>" campaign in opposition to the actions of <a href="/facts/Unisys/y49ddC6b">Unisys</a> in enforcing their patent on <a href="/facts/Lempel-Ziv-Welch/hJfgYm9j">LZW</a> compression used by <a href="/facts/CompuServe/Pjpdcf2a">CompuServe</a> when creating the image format. </p><p>The League produced a newsletter, <i>Programming Freedom</i>, in 11 issues from 1991 to 1995. These primary source materials chronicle the work of the organization. </p><p>The single event that had the most influence on the creation of the League was <a href="/facts/Apple_Computer/oTJYta3k">Apple</a>'s lawsuits against <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a> about supposed copyrights violations of the <a href="/facts/Look_and_feel/Uo3RcETT">look and feel</a> of the <a href="/facts/Apple_Macintosh/8GhnXTK0">Macintosh</a> in the development of <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Windows/bwhAhuSL">Windows</a>. After the lawsuit ended, the League went dormant, to be resurrected by those who were increasingly troubled by the enforcement of software patents. </p><p>In September 2009, LPF President Dean Anderson sent a notice to former members announcing the return of the LPF and reviving its membership, with plans for an election on 12 May 2010.[<i>needs update</i>] </p>