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Re: non-free firmware in kernel modules, aggregation and unclear copyright notice.



On Fri, 8 Apr 2005 07:40:59 -0500 Jordan Abel wrote:

> On Apr 8, 2005 2:44 AM, Sven Luther <sven.luther@wanadoo.fr> wrote:
> > On Tue, Apr 05, 2005 at 11:50:54AM -0400, Richard B. Johnson wrote:
> 
> > > Wrong! It is perfectly legal in the United States, and I'm pretty
> > > sure in your country, to distribute or redistribute copyrighted
> > > works. Otherwise there wouldn't be any bookstores or newspaper
> > > stands.
> > 
> > Mmm, so you are claiming it is perfectly right to make copies of the
> > windows installation CD, or for that matter to duplicate music CDs ?
> 
> That is not his claim - he did not claim, and his example makes this
> perfectly clear, that it is legal to make copies of anything. Is it
> illegal in your country to resell a music CD that you bought? Would
> you accept, even if Microsoft claimed it were so, that it were illegal
> to resell a copy of windows you no longer use?

OK, Richard's claim was that it's perfectly legal to *transfer* a
(legally obtained) copy of a copyrighted work to someone else, as long
as you do not actually *make* that copy.
This seems to be true (it's the First Sale Doctrine, if I understand
correctly): you can take your legally obtained copy of Microsoft Windows
and sell it to your best frien... err worst enemy, along with the
original box, manual (which manual?), printed EULA, and your authorized
backup copy (if you created one) as long as you disintall it from your
machine.
At that point you have no excuses to not install Debian on your machine,
so it seems the whole operation gives you several advantages!  ;-)


What I fail to understand is *how* Richard's claim applies to
redistribution of a Linux kernel image through a mirror network or
similar.
Redistributing is very different from transferring a copy.
You make copies while you redistribute.

-- 
    :-(   This Universe is buggy! Where's the Creator's BTS?   ;-)
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  Francesco Poli                             GnuPG Key ID = DD6DFCF4
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