nbvs@cl.cam.ac.uk (Nicko van Someren) (05/03/91)
In article <6802@acorn.co.uk> aglover@acorn.co.uk (Alan Glover) writes: >I have just posted a package containing CLIB 3.66 to comp.binaries.acorn. > >If you use this posting, you are considered to have entered into the end >user licence agreement listed below..... > > >Software Licence Conditions >--------------------------- > >The software in the following posting is not Public Domain, and is governed >by a Licence. Please read the Licence completely. > >BY EXTRACTING THIS SOFTWARE YOU ACCEPT THE LICENCE CONDITIONS. (Details of licence deleted) Talking to various lawyers here in appears that shrink wrap licences ARE NOT BINDING in this country. That is to say licences which say 'If you break this seal then you agree to this licence' have no legal weight at all in the U.K.. Of course you are still not allowed to break the copyright laws which govern the software but any restrictions placed on the software above and beyond the copyright are null and void. Note that this is not the case in the U.S.A. It strikes me that the last line in the quoted section above is infact a shrink wrap licence and as such has no legal standing in the U.K.. Note that the same applies for the bit in the Impression licence that says that since you broke the seal you will not disassemble it. It is not my intention that people should do things outside the law but I fell that we should know where we really stand. It is worth noting that since shrink wrap licences are MISLEADING then if they attempt to stop you from doing something that is legal to do and would benefit you then they are also FRAUDULENT. This information came from an academic lawyer so if the law has changed in the very recent past then the above may no longer be true. > >.... Any enquiries about this should be addressed to our Legal department. > Yup. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Nicko van Someren, nbvs@cl.cam.ac.uk, (44) 223 358707 or (44) 860 498903 | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
) (05/08/91)
nbvs@cl.cam.ac.uk (Nicko van Someren) writes: > In article <6802@acorn.co.uk> aglover@acorn.co.uk (Alan Glover) writes: > >If you use this posting, you are considered to have entered into the end > >user licence agreement listed below..... [...] > Talking to various lawyers here in appears that shrink wrap licences > ARE NOT BINDING in this country. That is to say licences which say 'If you > break this seal then you agree to this licence' have no legal weight at all > in the U.K. This is my understanding as well. > Of course you are still not allowed to break the copyright laws > which govern the software but any restrictions placed on the software above > and beyond the copyright are null and void. In this case, you could argue that there is an implied permission to copy the files via the usual Usenet means; however, there is no permission to distribute the files via PD libraries, by giving copies to your friends, and so on, unless the posting disclaims copyright. I think the disclaimer of liability is pretty redundant too; as I understand it, one cannot disclaim _all_ liability except in a written contract, and even then there are restrictions. And if you don't disclaim liability, there are restrictions on what you _can_ be held liable for. So to summarize, the shrinkwrap license probably isn't at all binding, and it probably doesn't matter from our point of view or Acorn's. :-) > Note that this is not the case > in the U.S.A. It varies by state. mathew [ Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer either. ]