Differences between version 9 and predecessor to the previous major change of SoftwareLicensing.
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| Newer page: | version 9 | Last edited on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 8:43:29 pm | by zcat(1) | Revert |
| Older page: | version 8 | Last edited on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 4:40:47 pm | by DanielLawson | Revert |
@@ -11,12 +11,24 @@
Software can also be DualLicensed, commonly released free under the GPL, and commercially under a second license.
See Category:License for a list of licences.
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-''This entire page is crap.
In the early days you did BUY software the same way you'd buy a book. You'd OWN that software outright, and have all the usual rights associated with ownership. The software author couldn't tell you what you were allowed to use the software for, or how long before it 'expired', or stop you letting friends use it when they came over, or stop you from selling it second-hand when you no longer needed it. Copyright still applied; you were not allowed to give or sell copies to your friends, but that was about all. Software Licensing was restricted to only a few very large and expensive programs which often had to be paid for a year at a time. ''
+''In the early days you did BUY software the same way you'd buy a book. You'd OWN that software outright, and have all the usual rights associated with ownership. The software author couldn't tell you what you were allowed to use the software for, or how long before it 'expired', or stop you letting friends use it when they came over, or stop you from selling it second-hand when you no longer needed it. Copyright still applied; you were not allowed to give or sell copies to your friends, but that was about all. Software Licensing was restricted to only a few very large and expensive programs which often had to be paid for a year at a time. ''
-''Microsoft's EULA is a contract, not a licence. It restricts what you'd normally be allowed to do if you owned the software, and you have to accept it because
that's the only way you can legally get hold of the software. Effectively
you never own the software, you only have restricted use of it under the terms set by Microsoft. Microsoft does not grant a licence (permission to make copies that would normally be forbidden by copyright) to any end user
. ''
+''Microsoft's EULA means
that you never own the software, you only have a licence granting
restricted use of it under the terms set by Microsoft. ''
-''The GPL is a licence. It
grants you permission to make copies of the software where such copying would normally be forbidden by copyright, but imposes some conditions on 'copying for redistribution' (and nothing else)
. Once you obtain a copy of the software you own it outright and may do anything you like with it other than what is prohibited by copyright law. The GPL has no effect on your use of the software. You do not need a licence to use software that you own, just as you don't need a licence to read a book after you buy it. -- zcat(1)''
+''The GPL grants you permission to make copies of the software where such copying would normally be forbidden by copyright, but imposes some conditions on 'copying for redistribution'. The GPL does not impose any conditions on the end user
. Once you obtain a copy of the software,
you own it outright (you own that copy of the software, you still do not own the copyright on the software)
and may do anything you like with it other than what is prohibited by copyright law. The GPL has no effect on your use of the software. You do not need a licence to use software that you own, just as you don't need a licence to read a book after you buy it. -- zcat(1)''
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''From what I've seen, there's no dispute that licence is the correct terminology. A licence grants the licensee special permission to do something with the property of the licenser. eg, use their software in certain circumstances. The MS EULA might be more restrictive than the GPL, but that's neither here nor there. If you don't like the licence, you can of course use other software - I do. Incidentally, you don't own GPL'd code. The original authors of all code blocks maintain their ownership. And you don't 'need a licence to read a book after you buy it' because you've __already__ paid the copyright fee and obtained permission. Read this article at [groklaw|http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20031214210634851]. And, I'm sure, our next [meeting|MeetingTopics.2005-07-25] will hold some insight-- DanielLawson''
+
+----
+
+My understanding of the legal situation is based on that article and the GPL FAQ, although I have made some corrections to what I originally wrote here, and I'm assuming this will get covered at the next meeting. The GPL grants you a licence to make copies, you own everything but the copyright to it so the right to do anything else with the software (run it, modify it, etc) is assumed. Microsoft's EULA grants you permission to run software, and the software itself (the copy in your posession) remains the property of Microsoft. Microsoft's license is only a licence if it grants permission to do something you couldn't normally do.. in this case it grants you permission to use software you do not own.
+
+Car analogies;
+
+ I buy a car from Toyota. Toyota still own the copyright (I can't make a knock-off Toyota clone) but I own the physical car outright. I can take it to any mechanic, change my own oil and sparkplugs, add after-market parts like a racing engine, spoiler and green neon lights. I can also take it apart and find out how everything works, sell it to someone else, turn it into funky modern art by impaling it on a large metal spike, or whatever else without having to go back to Toyota and ask their permission.
+
+ I buy a GPL car (from Richard, or from someone who used Richard's plans to build it) and I still own the car. I can do all the same things that I could do with the Toyota. Richard still owns the copyright, but he's granted a licence for anyone to build their own car using (or based in part on) his plans. The only restriction is that if you sell or give your car to someone else they get a copy of the plans and the same permission.
+
+ I go see Bill. He won't sell me the car but I can rent it for life for about the same amount of money. The physical car is parked in my garage, but I'm not allowed to take the car apart and find out how it works because it's not mine. I'm only allowed four passengers at most, and the next time I need an oil change Bill reserves the right to add GPS tracking and a remote engine dissabler if he decides that's necessary. Bill still owns both the copyright and the car itself.
