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From: tim@ism780c.UUCP (Tim Smith)
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: Your software rights are in danger
Message-ID: <201@ism780c.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 26-Dec-85 15:48:55 EST
Article-I.D.: ism780c.201
Posted: Thu Dec 26 15:48:55 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 28-Dec-85 13:00:34 EST
References: <826@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Reply-To: tim@ism780c.UUCP (Tim Smith)
Organization: Interactive Systems Corp., Santa Monica, CA
Lines: 35

In article <826@brl-tgr.ARPA> sienkiew@louie.udel.edu writes:
>
>If you don't buy software that has license agreements like that, you probably
>won't be buying much at all.  Imagine what it would be like if you bought a
>new car and the manufacturer didn't even have to guarentee that it could move
>under it's own power!
>
Why would you buy such a car?  Don't all the proposed lawa require the
agreement to be clearly visable and labeled?  If you see a product with
an agreement you are not willing to follow, then don't buy it!

>Now suppose that this was a shrink-wrap license under the Illinois law.  And
>suppose you bought the software by mail-order.  You cannot determine if it
>works without accepting the license agreement.

Even without a license agreement, a store is not required to take back
purchased items ( I think ).  For example, if I buy a book, read it,
and then decide that it was a lousy book, it didn't live up to my
expectations, and I will never, ever, want to re-read it, I can't take
it back to the bookstore and get my money back!  Isn't it now the same
with software?  Sure, many dealers let you return something if you are
not satisfied, but I think that they are doing this to try to get you
to buy from them, not because any law says they must.

At least under the Illinois law, they are required to take back a product
if you see that the shrink-wrap license is not suitable.  So you are
gaining, not losing.

What I really don't understand is why people object to being required to
honor voluntary agreements.  You are not forced to buy a product with
a license agreement you do not like.  You are allowed to return it if
you buy it by mistake.  What's the beef?

-- 
Tim Smith       sdcrdcf!ism780c!tim || ima!ism780!tim || ihnp4!cithep!tim