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> ...which otherwise you don't have. Why not? If I own a chair, I have the right to use it. If I own a copy of the software (that I paid for in a store, for ex
by rlpb 9y ago
> ...which otherwise you don't have.
Why not? If I own a chair, I have the right to use it. If I own a copy of the software (that I paid for in a store, for example), then there is nothing in law that says that I cannot use it. I have rights over what I own. Nothing restricts that.
Copyright law exists to protect software writers by providing them with a means to make money making software. This law restricts my ability to make copies. There is no law that restricts my ability to use what I own.
- emodendroket 9y agoWell obviously their contention is that you're buying a license to use the software and not the software itself. You're free to disagree but it's internally consistent.
- sqeaky 9y agoThey can disagree all they want, but it is on them to prove that I agreed to buy a license, when I am physically holding something I bought. I didn't have to sign a contract for it. Adding terms after the purchase makes it a post-purchase agreement and that is unenforceable in most western jurisdictions.
- emodendroket 9y agoSomebody should inform all the companies selling enterprise software whose entire model depends on selling seats, then.
- sqeaky 9y agoMost of those have agreements at the time of purchase. Those are some of the most legitimate dealings in software sales.
- emodendroket 9y agoAnyway, as I replied to the other guy, Venor v. Autodesk shows that some courts have upheld "shrinkwrap" licensing. I don't think it's a settled question in US law.
- rlpb 9y agoThat may be their contention, but this is exactly why this is fundamentally different to the copyleft case. The GPL requires none of this. I would add that it seems pretty specious to argue that I bought a license when the license was not presented to me at the time I paid for the product and left the store, but I accept that this could be their contention.
- emodendroket 9y agoPerhaps, but not without precedent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernor_v._Autodesk,_Inc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernor_v._Autodesk,_Inc. (note: the period is part of the URL)