Forty-four years ago, Richard Stallman gave birth to the Free Software movement. Personal interest, an intellectual view about the pragmatism of software openness, and a deep-set belief about the morality of software as a commons, ran head-first into the growing shift towards closed and protected software. Clever use of copyright law to enshrine software freedoms kick-started a revolution. Yet despite the rise of the more business-friendly Open Source Software movement, many for-profit companies still view liberated software as an anti-capitalist endeavour. It's a common question: "How can something given away for free, even possibly used and exploited by competitors, make any financial sense for a business?"
This talk will explore the notion of value and why, when and how freed software makes good business sense.