# GPLv3 §0 ¶1-5

<span class="fitonslide">

<p>

  "Copyright" also means copyright-like laws that apply to other kinds of

works, such as semiconductor masks.

<br/>

<br/>

  "The Program" refers to any copyrightable work licensed under this

License.  Each licensee is addressed as "you".  "Licensees" and

"recipients" may be individuals or organizations.

<br/>

<br/>

To "modify" a work means to copy from or adapt all or part of the work

in a fashion requiring copyright permission, other than the making of an

exact copy.  The resulting work is called a "modified version" of the

earlier work or a work "based on" the earlier work.

<br/>

<br/>

  A "covered work" means either the unmodified Program or a work based

on the Program.

</p>

# Binaries (i.e., Object Code) are Modifications

+ Software that the computer understands is different than software humans

  read.

+ There is often a process required to modify (and/or translate) the software

  from human-readable

      + This process can be done ahead of time.

+ Separation of source and binary was the first way proprietary software

  companies discovered to subjugate users.

      + GPL uses the fact that binaries are modifications (which are often

        distribution) to prevent that subjugation.