Len said:
I am one of those that take the high road on SW licensing and I'll
give you my thoughts on the matter. As individuals, we all have to
make up our own minds as to what we will do or not do.
- Yes, the EULAs (MS, IBM, HP, etc.) are one-sided contracts, written
by the mfr's lawyers to protect them, minimize any risk of suits for
alleged liability issues, etc. The same can be said for any standard
retail sales contract (buying a car from a dealer, signing a credit
card receipt, store purchases, leasing an apartment, etc.), as we
don't get to really "negotiate" as an equal party on the deal.
No, but you get the opportunity to reject the terms before money changes
hands with software, like you do with all of the types of agreements you
mention.
[In
most cases that I'm familiar with, if you disagree with the terms of
the SW contract you can notify the mfr, return the product, cease use
of the product, and they will return your money. That appears to be
the sole "out" to the one-sided contracts.]
But not for a full refund. You pay for shipping and handling.
- Enforceability of contracts will vary greatly from one jurisdiction
to another. WRT SW, since most is sold internationally, what a court
would rule in the US may be very different than what a court in the
UK, China, France, etc. might rule on the same EULA/Contract.
Yes. That's right.
-IANAL, but I do believe that there is a vast difference between
making a photocopy of a newspaper article, duplicating a music CD to
play in your car (just in case heat damages the CD vs. risking the
original that you legally own), etc. vs. copying a single OS License
on multiple machines.
Well, just because MS thinks that their "shrinkwrap license" is a
"software license" doesn't make that so. You purchase a copy of
copyright material, long before accepting any agreement. As an owner of
a copy of a computer program, I have the right to infringe that is
protected under US Copyright Law: Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 117.
In the first case there has been case law (in
the US) on "fair use" that allows this as a legal act. In the latter
case (installing a single OS License on multiple machines) I believe
that MS (and other mfrs) and SPA have successfully prosecuted many
companies and the court findings have gone in their favor. Not sure
that any individual has ever been prosecuted in the same way, but the
potential is certainly there.
Commercial usage doesn't fall under 'fair use' protection, however in
many countries 'fair use' does protect individuals for their private
non-commercial use of software. Can't compare the two, plus so does
Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 117 in the US. And I believe in most of
the cases brought against companies no actual legal decision was ever
handed down. Companies settled because the legal costs of fighting it
were much higher than settling
- Personally, I look at the OS Licensing issue the same way I look at
auto licensing (registration) or insurance.
You would accept them putting a technological lock on your leased car?
You would pay the lease before knowing the terms?
Lets say that I own two
cars, but I am the only driver in my household. I can't legally just
move the license plates from one car to another when I want to take a
drive and legally be registered and insured! They (government and
insurance companies) insist that I have each car registered and
insured separately.
Insurance companies don't have the soveriegnty to require anything, it
the state gov't's that do. MS doesn't have the soveriegnty to require
people to even register the software they sell, let alone enforce those
terms on those that have every right to remain totally anonymous from
them.
I don't get to make all the rules, but I do try hard to abide by
them. One of my first clients (a lawyer) asked me to buy him ONE copy
of MS-DOS 6.0 and install it on all 5 machines in his law office. I
told him that this was illegal and no way would I be involved in it.
I walked out of his office and never returned, thus losing money that
I would have made in supporting his computer needs. So yes, I do
"walk the walk" and don't just spout off what the right thing is here.
At least the OP compared like things. Copyrighted Material to
Copyrighted Material. You compare software to everything but other
copyrighted material. You "walk the walk" of a hypocrite.
--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei!"
