Path: utzoo!dciem!dretor.dciem.dnd.ca
From: chk@dretor.dciem.dnd.ca (C. Harald Koch)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: WB1.3.2
Message-ID: <2498@dciem.dciem.dnd.ca>
Date: 8 Sep 89 19:34:13 GMT
References: <1989Sep3.015931.9016@csusac.csus.edu> <19679@usc.edu> <19682@usc.edu>
Sender: chk@dciem.dciem.dnd.ca
Reply-To: chk@dretor.dciem.dnd.ca (C. Harald Koch)
Followup-To: /dev/null
Organization: NTT Systems, Inc., Toronto, Canada
Lines: 62

First, thanks to Commodore for making the software available. However, I,
like everyone else, have some comments on the License Agreement:


>	THE SOFTWARE MAY BE USED ONLY FOR PERSONAL OR NON-COMMERCIAL USES 
>ON AMIGA COMPUTERS AND MAY NOT BE USED FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES OR 
>REDISTRIBUTED WITHOUT AN EXPRESS LICENSE FROM COMMODORE (available 
>from Commodore's Software Licensing Department).

I am quite suprised that this provision got lost in the discussion? So what
about the nuclear materials clauses; You can't use the stuff for ANYTHING
commercial! So much for Commodore every being able to sell Amigas to the
business environment.

Now I know that the intention was to prevent people from redistributing the
software for profit, but the words say "You can't make money using Commodore
software without our special License)". Thanks. You just put my company out of
business.


>		1.  The Software contains trade secrets and in order to
>	protect them you may not decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble
>	or otherwise reduce the Software to a human perceivable form.  

This is violated by a neat program posted a while back which added comments
to a disassembly of the Amiga EXEC.

I haven't seen the Canadian or American Freedom/Privacy of Information Acts,
but I suspect that this clause is voided by the fact that you are selling
the software to the general public. I believe that I am allowed do all of
the above with any/all software I receive. Even if not, I'd really like to
see an attempt to enforce this...


>II.  TERM
>
>	The license is effective until terminated.  You may terminate it
>at any time by destroying the Software together with all copies.  The 
>license will also terminate if you fail to comply with any of the terms or 
>conditions of this Agreement.  You agree upon such termination to destroy all
>copies of the Software.

Ok, suppose I don't agree to destroy all copies of the software upon
termination. Well, because I don't agree to this, the License is now
terminated. Hmm. I guess I don't have to destroy the software then! (I know,
I am being picky, but we all got a good laugh out of the entire agreement
the first time we saw it...)


>VI.  GENERAL
>
>	Any attempt to network, rent lease, or sublicense the Software 
>	or to transfer any of the rights, duties or obligations under this 
>	Agreement is void.

So if I sell my Amiga I can't sell the software? Do I have to take the ROMS
out too?

In short :-) Don't worry about the Agreement too much. Commodore isn't
trying to restrict your actions; they are trying to protect themselves from
the results of your actions in our modern times of law-suits galore.