Thx,
A good piece of info to know;thanks for the research.
Jeff
"arachnid" <none@goawayspammers.com> wrote in message
news
an.2006.10.24.04.34.11.270595@goawayspammers.com...
> On Mon, 23 Oct 2006 20:59:01 -0700, Gene Fitz wrote:
>
>> Exactly, and if Microsoft stipulates that it will only allow you to use
>> THEIR liscense on one computer. They can. it is THEIR software, you are
>> only leasing the software.
>
> Actually it's a very gray area in the courts. Some have ruled one way,
> some another. For an example of one ruling opposing the idea that you're
> just buying a license:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine
>
> In 1997 in Novell v. Network Trade Center 25 F. Supp. 2d 1218 (C.D. Utah
> 1997)[1] purchaser is an "owner" by way of sale and is entitled to the
> use and enjoyment of the software with the same rights as exist in the
> purchase of any other good. Said software transactions do not merely
> constitute the sale of a license to use the software. The shrinkwrap
> license included with the software is therefore invalid as against such
> a purchaser insofar as it purports to maintain title to the software in
> the copyright owner. Under the first sale doctrine, NTC was able to
> redistribute the software to end-users without copyright infringement.
> Transfer of a copyrighted work that is subject to the first sale
> doctrine extinguishes all distribution rights of the copyright holder
> upon transfer of title.
>
> As discussed in the article, the later DMCA has further confused the
> issue. It allows copyright owners to impose arbitrary conditions of use,
> but there are some conflicting rulings over whether the DMCA can legally
> override the First Sale Doctrine or certain other consumer protections:
>
> The first-sale doctrine as it relates to computer software is an area of
> legal confusion. Software publishers claim the first-sale doctrine does
> not apply because software is licensed, not sold, under the terms of an
> End User License Agreement (EULA). The courts have issued contrary
> decisions regarding the first-sale rights of consumers. Bauer & Cie. v.
> O'Donnell and Bobbs-Merrill Co. v. Straus are two US Supreme Court cases
> that deal with copyright holders trying to enforce terms beyond the
> scope of copyright and patent, but calling it a license. Many state
> courts have also ruled that a sale of software is indeed a sale of goods
> under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) at the point where funds are
> exchanged for the physical copy of the software. The licensed and not
> sold argument is held mostly in the 8th and 7th Circuits while other
> circuits tend to support the opposite, thus leading to conflicting court
> opinions such as seen in the 3rd Circuit Step-Saver Data Systems, Inc.
> v. Wyse Technology and fifth circuit Vault Corp. v. Quaid Software as
> opposed to the 8th Circuit Blizzard v. BNETD (Davidson & Associates v.
> Internet Gateway Inc (2004)), which have not been resolved by the
> Supreme Court.
>
>