Eben Moglen

Eben Moglen is an American legal scholar, professor, and prominent advocate for free software and digital rights. He is best known for serving as the longtime legal counsel to the Free Software Foundation and for founding the Software Freedom Law Center. His work focuses on the intersection of law, technology, and social justice, arguing for the protection of civil liberties in the digital age.

Early life and education

Eben Moglen was born in 1956 in New York City. He pursued his undergraduate studies at Swarthmore College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. Demonstrating a profound interdisciplinary intellect, he then attended Yale University, where he simultaneously earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School and a Ph.D. in History. His doctoral dissertation examined the political and legal history of the American Revolution, laying an early foundation for his later critiques of power structures.

Career

Moglen began his legal career as a law clerk for Judge Hugo Black Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He then entered private practice before joining the faculty of Columbia Law School in 1987, where he has been a professor of law and legal history for decades. At Columbia, he has taught courses on the law of free software, internet governance, and intellectual property. In 2005, he founded the Software Freedom Law Center, a non-profit organization that provides pro-bono legal services to developers of free and open-source software projects.

Legal and advocacy work

Moglen's legal work has been instrumental in defending and defining the legal landscape for free software. As general counsel for the Free Software Foundation for over a decade, he helped draft critical licenses like the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 3. He has been a vocal critic of expansive software patent regimes and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), arguing they stifle innovation and freedom. His advocacy extends to broader issues of privacy law, network neutrality, and challenging the surveillance practices of entities like the National Security Agency.

Free software activism

A central figure in the free software movement, Moglen is renowned for his eloquent speeches and writings that frame software freedom as an essential human right. He is a close associate of Richard Stallman, the founder of the GNU Project. Moglen articulates a vision where control over software is fundamental to individual autonomy and a democratic society, famously critiquing the dominance of proprietary platforms like those from Microsoft and Apple Inc.. He advocates for decentralized alternatives and has supported projects like FreedomBox, a personal server designed to ensure privacy and resist corporate surveillance.

Writings and publications

Moglen is a prolific writer whose works analyze the philosophical and legal underpinnings of the digital world. His seminal essay, "Anarchism Triumphant: Free Software and the Death of Copyright," is a foundational text. He has published extensively in law reviews such as the Harvard Law Review and the Yale Law Journal, and his lectures, like the "Dot Communist Manifesto," are widely circulated. He also maintains a popular series of historical and legal commentaries, further exploring themes of liberty, property, and power in the context of technology.

Personal life

Eben Moglen maintains a relatively private personal life, with public details focusing primarily on his professional and activist endeavors. He resides in New York City and continues to teach at Columbia Law School while leading the Software Freedom Law Center. He is known for his passionate, erudite speaking style and remains a deeply influential and respected thinker within the global communities of free software, digital activism, and legal academia. Category:American legal scholars Category:Free software activists Category:Columbia Law School faculty Category:1956 births Category:Living people