Re: Asimov Site

["Frank Townsend" <ftownsen@iamdigex.net>]

UCITA, in states where enacted, certainly on its face bolsters the
enforceability of EULA terms.

The issues are complex, however, and whether UCITA can preempt the first
sale doctrine of the Copyright Act is controversial.

The lovely state of Maryland has adopted UCITA and I am following it at a
safe distance ;-)

"**** ****" <***@***.com> wrote in message
news:V9Bo5.58215$rd1.10635770@typhoon-news1.southeast.rr.com...
> Frank Townsend wrote in message
> <2Pyo5.1869$hg.175400@dca1-nnrp2.news.digex.net>...
> >I think the original poster was referring not to copyright, but to
> >restrictive EULA (shrinkwrap) agreements.
> >
> >While some of these agreements have been upheld, the one restricting
resale
> >has been regarded as unconscionable, unenforceable, and, as you indicate,
> >violative of the "first sale" provision of the Copyright Act.
>
>
> Frank,
>     I do not wish to start an argument. In the strictest sense, everything
> you say is correct. However, that only applies if the copyrighted
materials
> are "bought". It has long been the desire of softco's that they license
> their products rather than outright sale. In some cases, they have managed
> to do so quite easily, in others, particularly consumer software, they
have
> had trouble making it clear to everyone that it is licensed, not sold. The
> momentum is is their direction, and maybe within a decade, it will be the
> norm that you 'license' copyrighted materials, instead of buying them. All
> they have to do, is tie it to a particular machine, and any attempt to
force
> it to run on another machine violates DMCA. Also, when this is the norm,
the
> climate for those that resell older historical software despite its eula
> will chill rather quickly, wouldn't you say? What doesn't hold up now
might
> just be enforceable in the near future.