Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!uwvax!oddjob!ncar!noao!mcdsun!fishpond!fnf
From: fnf@fishpond.UUCP (Fred Fish)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: FullWrite Professional
Message-ID: <36@fishpond.UUCP>
Date: 23 May 88 23:38:31 GMT
References: <8805172016.AA09499@decwrl.dec.com> <53610@sun.uucp> <13618@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> <1207@crete.cs.glasgow.ac.uk> <6643@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> <54125@sun.uucp>
Reply-To: fnf@fishpond.UUCP (Fred Fish)
Organization: occasionally
Lines: 30

In article <54125@sun.uucp> chuq@sun.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach) writes:
>No, you're licensing it. And, if you look at any of the agreements on any of
>the other pieces of software you have, you'll see (except in rare cases)
>that you're licensing them, too.

That is what most producers of "shrink-wrapped-licensed" software would
like you to believe.  However, to my knowledge, the validity of these
"licenses" has never truely been established in a court of law, except for
a few test cases in some states.  A license is a contract, and in order
to have a valid contract, there must be some opportunity for negotiation
of the terms by both parties.  Also, many states have laws which, in effect,
explicitly make you the owner of any item for which you simply walk into a
store, plunk down your money, and walk out with the goods.  This does not
mean that you can make copies to your hearts content and give them away
to all your friends, that is prohibited by the copyright laws.  But you
are free to do whatever you wish with the ORIGINAL copy, including
transfering it to a third party for whatever consideration you mutually
agree is appropriate (though if you keep a COPY you are violating
copyright laws unless you also have the original in your possession).

Disclaimer:	I'm not a lawyer, just a rather ornery individual who
		does not necessary believe everything he sees written
		down in black and white.

-Fred


-- 
# Fred Fish    hao!noao!mcdsun!fishpond!fnf     (602) 921-1113
# Ye Olde Fishpond, 1346 West 10th Place, Tempe, AZ 85281  USA