Re: UnrealIRCd License (Click-Through issue)
Hi, Edmund!
* Edmund GRIMLEY EVANS <edmundo@rano.org> [2003-09-01 12:12]:
> I'm not really sure what it means to make a "no warranty" clause
> "legally binding". If you are trying to avoid getting sued then you
> might be better off if you make a sincere effort to inform users of
> the potential risks rather than rely on some legal gobbledygook to
> give you magical protection.
While I agree with that I assume they are trying to prevent to be sued
when a company uses their software and it stops working because of a
bug.
cf. GPL clauses 11 and 12.
Another point I remember are import/export restrictions which may be in
place (for example in France) because the software contains cryptographic
code.
> Common sense says that it is more useful to warn people in ordinary
> natural language of the real risks specific to a particular product
> rather than attach the same legalese that nobody reads to every
> product.
Agreed.
> > [Full copy of GPL]
>
> Which includes, presumably, the following words:
>
> 5. You are not required to accept this License, since you have not
> signed it.
And what does that mean? May I download Emacs, not accept the GPL, use
it, run into problems with my business because of using it and then sue
the FSF?
> Yes, but if you download a program, are you copying it, or is the web
> site copying it, or both? I rather suspect that if you can obtain the
> data by following a URL (even one containing the string "&accept=yes")
> then it might be the web site that is copying, as someone can always
> claim to have obtained the data by following a URL they saw in IRC
> rather than by filling in your form. I'm just speculating here.
IANAL and I suspect such questions can only be answered by a lawyer or a
person with much experience in this area.
Cheers,
Mika
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