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From: jimb@amdcad.UUCP (Jim Budler)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: Re: copy protection
Message-ID: <7059@amdcad.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 3-Dec-85 00:29:32 EST
Article-I.D.: amdcad.7059
Posted: Tue Dec  3 00:29:32 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 5-Dec-85 04:29:27 EST
References: <1204@jhunix.UUCP> <763@bbnccv.UUCP> <11016@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Reply-To: jimb@amdcad.UUCP (Jim Budler)
Organization: AMD, Sunnyvale, California
Lines: 49

In article <348@mhuxl.UUCP> smh@mhuxl.UUCP (henning) writes:
>> >What happens if the customer's Mac goes down and he has to get a loaner
>> >for a while? ....
>> 
>> A dealer could provide a loaner with frozen copies of all the software
>
>That is illegal.  You can not give people copies of licensed software unless
>you pay for a very liberal license.  The user is licensed and not the machine.
>I can see it now on the NY Times:  "Lotus sues machine for violating license
>agreement."  We could create machines that would only run one program.  That
>would really solve the problem.  The software would be in rom. [:{)>

Doesn't that answer the question?  If they are issuing a license to ME,
not to my MACHINE, what are they doing putting any machine dependencies in
it.

I think it is time some one made the software vendors make up their minds:

	1) Are they selling a product?
	2) Are they licensing a trade secret?
	3) Are they distributing a copyrighted article?

Right now they are trying to get the best of all three worlds.  i.e.

	1) The vendors don't sell anything, but license it, thus avoiding
	all product liability laws.

	2) They license use of their software.  In the mainframe world this
	procedure also includes maintanence and support, but not in the
	micro world.

	3) They copyright it in addition, just to gain some extra protection
	for their overblown prices, then say it isn't the same as a book
	and shouldn't allow lending libraries.

I think anything I buy in a retail store with money is a product and should
be subject to the product liability and warranty laws.  And this means that
when some 'copy protection scheme' causes me to lose legitimate use of
something that I have paid for, the vendor is fully liable under the law.
-- 
 Jim Budler
 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
 (408) 749-5806
 Usenet: {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra,intelca}!amdcad!jimb
 Compuserve:	72415,1200

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