On Thu, Dec 02, 1999 at 01:05:58PM -0800, Seth David Schoen wrote:
> Peter S Galbraith writes:
> > (I'm not saying that slapping an EULA on top of GPL software is
> > legal; I don't know that it is. If it's called a `license', it's
> > different that saying you can have this GPL code for $10000)
> Obviously _some_ EULAs on top of compilations containing GPLed software are
> legal. Presumably not all of them are.
Eh?
EULA, is an `End User License Agreement'. The `End User' part's fairly
plausible: it applies to people downloading from the Corel website. `License
agreement' is, according to dict:
1. Authority or liberty given to do or forbear any act;
especially, a formal permission from the proper
authorities to perform certain acts or to carry on a
certain business, which without such permission would be
illegal; a grant of permission; as, a license to preach,
to practice medicine, to sell gunpowder or intoxicating
liquors.
. This isn't necessarily overriding anyone's copyright, it needn't be
anything more than permission to use their ftp server.
And sure, the whole ``INSTALLING OR OTHERWISE USING THIS PRODUCT INDICATES
YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT YOU HAVE READ THIS LICENSE'' reeks of shrink-wrap
licensing and all the horrible things that go with it. It's directly followed
by ``Many of the Software Programs included in Corel Linux ... permit You to
copy, modify and redistribute [them].''
(Which, I might add, strikes me as a pretty adequate counter to the whole
"People who use RedHat and Corel will never guess they're allowed to give
away copies and stuff!" thing.)
Then there's a warning that not all of it's free software, and some
general `your actions are your responsibility', and the traditional
`you can only sue us in Canada' note that's presumably required by the
Canadian tourist board. And that's about it.
IANAL, of course.
Cheers,
aj
--
Anthony Towns <aj@humbug.org.au> <http://azure.humbug.org.au/~aj/>
I don't speak for anyone save myself. GPG encrypted mail preferred.
``The thing is: trying to be too generic is EVIL. It's stupid, it
results in slower code, and it results in more bugs.''
-- Linus Torvalds
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