Idea: Four Freedoms for the Physical World

Given the liberating effects seen in free / open source software and the coming development of personal fabrication, why shouldn't we adapt GNU's four kinds of freedom to the physical world?

In furtherance of that idea, I propose that for a thing to be free as in free speech, its user must have the following four freedoms:

• The freedom to use the thing, for any legal purpose (freedom 0).
• The freedom to study how the thing works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the design is a precondition for this.
• The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
• The freedom to improve the thing, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the design is a precondition for this.