"It's a mistake to transfer answers from one thing to
another," says Stallman, contrasting songs with
software programs. "The right approach is to look at
each type of work and see what conclusion you get."
When it comes to copyrighted works, Stallman says he
divides the world into three categories. The first
category involves "functional" works-e.g., software
programs, dictionaries, and textbooks. The second
category involves works that might best be described as
"testimonial"-e.g., scientific papers and historical
documents. Such works serve a purpose that would be
undermined if subsequent readers or authors were free
to modify the work at will. The final category involves
works of personal expression-e.g., diaries, journals,
and autobiographies. To modify such documents would be
to alter a person's recollections or point of
view-action Stallman considers ethically unjustifiable.
Of the three categories, the first should give users
the unlimited right to make modified versions, while
the second and third should regulate that right
according to the will of the original author.
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