Re: [ossig] Dangerous EULA Terms

[Nur Hussein <nhussein@xxxxxxxxx>]

Well, let's break the word down for EULA's of proprietary software:

End-user - implying users of the software (following the traditional
meaning of usage, which is the execution of the binaries)

License - A document that grants rights and permissions for usage of
the software.

Agreement - Implies a contract between the copyright owner and the licensee.

Now let's look at the case of the GPL. Does the GPL affect the
end-user? Apparently not, since acceptance of the terms isn't even
necessary to use the software. Is it a license for usage? No, since
one is not required - the philosophy of "free as in freedom" implies
that it's a right that users *already have*, and need not be granted
via special permissions. Is it an agreement (for the aforementioned
"usage"?) Apparently not, since you don't even need to agree to it to
be an end-user.

So the GPL is a non-EULA :)

Ok, this is just bickering on semantics, but I've always felt
proprietary EULA's are restrictive and overreaching, and it's
dangerous to grant software corporations too much power over users.
The GPL isn't designed to take away rights of users, it's designed to
prevent it using existing copyright law.

Do EULA's have any legal basis in Malaysia?

-= Nur Hussein =-

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 18:12:25 +0800, Ditesh <ditesh@ameba6.com> wrote:
> 
> > true, it /is/ a EULA with /no/ usage restrictions/requirements.
> 
> While they definitely are End-User LA, one could argue that the LA
> affects more parties than just the end-user.
> 
> Ditesh
> 
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe: send mail to ossig-request@mncc.com.my
> with "unsubscribe ossig" in the body of the message
> 
>


---------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe: send mail to ossig-request@mncc.com.my
with "unsubscribe ossig" in the body of the message