Because he founded the Free <i>Software</i> Foundation, not the Free Products Foundation. At some point, you have to define the term &quot;software&quot; in order to focus your mission, and given the Four Freedoms that underpin the notion of Free Software, the current definition is apt.<p>That&#x27;s not to say that there isn&#x27;t value in open hardware, and certainly it&#x27;s not a bad idea to advocate for open designs. It&#x27;s just not part of the FSF&#x27;s mission.