[OT] Open Source, EULA - the Big Bad Bogeyman

[Randall Reetz]

Well you bring up lots of great points.  One that continually confuses is the difference between content and tool.  If you sell a lathe, you cant restrict what someone makes on their lathe, including another kind of lathe.  But if you are selling table legs, and they are sufficiently unique, then you can demand that people who buy your table legs, dont get to buy a lathe and turn copies out and sell them in competition or simply flood the market.  The confusion in digital comes with the fact that the lathe and the table leg are both just bits.  Both just as easy to copy and distribute.  But the law sees no difference between the digital and real world.  An application cant restrict owner use of that tool, but the seller of content can.  A seller of an application can restrict the reproduction and sale of that application (as content) but not what the owner builds through the use of that application.  Course you can apparently write anything you want into an owner agreement.  And that is exactly why they have become meaningless.  Imagine having to read a ten page legal doc before your new cook pan will accept olive oil.


-----Original Message-----
From: "Kay C Lan" <lan.kc.macmail at gmail.com>
To: "How to use Revolution" <use-revolution at lists.runrev.com>
Sent: 3/23/2009 11:15 PM
Subject: Re: [OT] Open Source, EULA - the Big Bad Bogeyman

On Tue, Mar 24, 2009 at 1:08 PM, Judy Perry <katheryn.swynford at gmail.com>wrote:

>
> It's funny you bring this up, ...
>
> I especially like how the iTunes EULA states that it may not be used to
> plan, build or operate a nuclear power facility.  The last time I d/l an
> update of iTunes I made certain to read that part ;-)
>

What so funny about this, I've been trying to take over the world for ages
but my Nuc. Powered Galactic Domination machine is naturally fitted with a
music client running off my iTunes server. I just can't operate it without
musical accompaniment ;-)

It's interesting to see the legal community getting involved in some of
> these issues.  I think entire classes at Carnegie Mellon maybe and Harvard
> are doing pro-bono work to defend hapless RIAA victims, as is Ray Beckerman
> (http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/).  Anytime I buy
> RIAA-backed
> music I donate an equal amount to Beckerman...
>
> Sorry -- I guess that's getting really OT ;-)
>
> OT maybe, but all very interesting.
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