ATT SOURCE CODE AGREEMENT Version 1.2C

[Ken Arromdee]

On Fri, 10 Sep 1999, John Cowan wrote:
> > > Unfree-1: The ASCA is a "shrink wrap" license
> > I think the words "shrink wrap" and "tear-open" refer to the fact that the
> > license is entered into by performing some sort of action, such as opening
> > a package, installing the program on a computer, or making _use_ of the
> > source code to build a program.
> Just so.  This is quite different from the GPL, LGPL, BSD, MIT, and QPL, which
> are unilateral licenses of the form: "I, the author, grant you certain
> of the rights I have under copyright law, conditional on your doing
> such and such."  You need do nothing and agree to nothing, but if you
> violate the conditions, the copyright laws prevent you from modifying,
> distributing, etc. etc.

What would prevent a license from coming with usage limitations, _and_ saying
"you may only distribute to people who agree to abide by the usage
limitations"?

That would essentially convert a distribution restriction into a use
restriction:  If you don't agree to the use restriction, people have no right
to distribute to you, so if you don't agree to the use restriction, any copies
you get are pirated.  Copyright law gives you no use rights at all for pirated
copies, so the license restricts use without reducing your rights below what
copyright law allows.

It's basically like the GPL, except instead of "if you don't agree to the
license, you have no right to distribute", it's "if you don't agree to the
license, the person who gave it to you had no right to distribute (which leaves
you with no right to use)".

And unlike a typical shrinkwrap license, it imposes use restrictions without
saying that nobody owns their copy of the program.