LLW 2026: opening legal conversations at the heart of Berlin
Berlin hosted the Free Software Legal & Licensing Workshop
2026, bringing together over 100 legal and compliance professionals,
technologists, and policy experts from all over the globe. LLW continued
to explore the evolving legal landscapes impacting Free
Software, with many discussions focusing on how software licensing is impacted by the advent of
large language models and AI
The FSFE's Free
Software Legal & Licensing Workshop (LLW) is an annual
conference for members of the Legal Network
community to meet face-to-face and share legal expertise. In 2026,
the event moved to Berlin's Kreuzberg district, hosted at bUm, a venue
dedicated to offering affordable coworking, networking, and event space
for civil society organisations. True to its spirit, the LLW once again
fostered the kind of collaborative environment where professionals can
share insights, debate complex issues, build a cohesive understanding of
the legal landscape affecting Free Software, and to grow a sense of
community of those “who can hear tomorrow coming”, to borrow the words
of David Bowie, who was referenced many times during the conference by
his Legal Network fans.
“This is the one conference, which you just have to join. The one
conference where everyone, everything the whole atmosphere reflects what
a difference a community can make, the conference that lets us overcome
the challenges we alle sometimes face [...] where history and experience
count, where failure is okay, [...] all of this in one package, I
couldn’t have wished for a better conference!Janneke van de
Westelake, Syndikusrechtsanwältin Robert Bosch GmbH and LLW 2026
participant.
The schedule this year reflected a field in motion. Artificial
intelligence has firmly moved to the centre of Free Software legal
debate, while the workshop also tackled a dense agenda of regulatory and
compliance topics shaping the European legislative landscape, including
the Cyber Resilience Act, the Digital Markets Act, and the EU Digital
Omnibus Regulation Proposal. Long-standing fundamentals of Free Software
law and tooling were equally present across the talks, panels, and
workshops. The LLW also continued its well-received mentorship
programme, pairing newcomers to the Legal Network with experienced
members over an informal breakfast ahead of the official programme.
Bowie, who made Berlin his creative home in the late 1970s, also
offered what might work well as one of the mottos of the LLW community:
"If you feel safe in the area you're working in, you're not working in
the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel
you're capable of being in – and when you don't feel that your feet are
quite touching the bottom, you're just about in the right place to do
something exciting." It is a sentiment that sits naturally with a
community of legal professionals navigating some of the most unsettled
and consequential terrain in technology law.
The FSFE extends its gratitude to all participants and sponsors whose
support made LLW 2026 possible: our Diamond sponsors Mercedes and Red
Hat; the Sapphire sponsors Amazon (AWS), Microsoft, and Siemens; Topaz
sponsors Bosch, Ericsson, and Google; and our Ruby sponsors Bird &
Bird, Eclipse Foundation, and Liferay.
The Legal Network
Licensing and legal decisions should be based on facts, rather than
fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Free Software contributors should be able
to focus on contributing to society without constantly worrying about
legal issues. That is why it is important to have a space for experts to
learned and discussed about these topics, not only yearly at LLW but
also thanks to the Legal Network.
The Legal
Network is a neutral, non-partisan group of experts in different
fields involved in Free Software legal issues, currently counting over
400 participants from diverse legal systems, academic backgrounds, and
affiliations.
Admission to the Legal Network is restricted, and the discussions
held there are confidential. The Chatham
House Rule applies to all discussions on the Legal Network mailing
list and at Legal Network events, which enables members to use the
information received, but not to reveal the identity nor the affiliation
of the speaker or any of the participants involved in the
discussion.
Support FSFE
Anmelden
