Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!att!rutgers!maverick.ksu.ksu.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!m.cs.uiuc.edu!gillies
From: gillies@m.cs.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Shrinkwrap licensing (Was: Do *
Message-ID: <70400104@m.cs.uiuc.edu>
Date: 18 Nov 90 10:01:00 GMT
References: <214511@<1990Nov15>
Lines: 16
Nf-ID: #R:<1990Nov15:214511:m.cs.uiuc.edu:70400104:000:701
Nf-From: m.cs.uiuc.edu!gillies    Nov 18 04:01:00 1990


But there is a difference.  Many of the shrinkwrap licenses state dumb
things like, "You cannot disassemble this software", "You cannot
modify this software", etc.

This is akin to a textbook manufacturer saying, "You cannot write in
the margins of this book."  "You cannot have the book rebound, and
insert new pages", etc.

I disbelieve that, once a product is sold, the seller can retain
rights (other than copy rights) to control my personal use of the
product.  Give me one counterexample.

Clearly, the seller cannot prohibit reverse - engineering, as
long as no copying is involved.  Otherwise, don't you think chipmakers
and hard disk makers would have sued themselves out of existence by now?