Shrink-wrap licensing

[Rod Dixon, J.D., LL.M.]

David,
  You misunderstood my hypo. My question was not about criminal law,
although copyright infringement is also a crime in the United States.
Instead, I asked a different question, but one along the lines that John's
example illustrated. Namely, what kind of privity is required to determine
how a standard or form license may be enforceable between parties who do not
physically meet or negotiate the license. Lack of privity of contract is
what some are really referring to when they question how a license may bind
someone unknown to the licensor. The trick is that in the United States such
licenses are formed (and sometimes required by law) all the time. The
popular conception of contract formation is simply incorrect. Disagreeing
with the legal rules of contract formation is fine, but it will not change
those rules. In business, if you act in a manner that ignores the rules, you
do so at your own peril.

Rod


___________________________________
Rod Dixon
Visiting Assistant Professor of Law
Rutgers University School of Law - Camden
www.cyberspaces.org
rod at cyberspaces.org

Chief Counsel
FreeBuyers Net, LLC
www.freebuyersnet.com
dixon at freebuyersnet.com



> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Johnson [mailto:david at usermode.org]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2000 11:26 PM
> To: Rod Dixon, J.D., LL.M.; John Cowan; license-discuss at opensource.org
> Subject: RE: Shrink-wrap licensing
>
>
> On Tue, 02 May 2000, Rod Dixon, J.D., LL.M. wrote:
> > Here's another one: if you walk into a computer store and steal
> a copy of
> > Microsoft Windows 2000 (...because it costs too much;-)) (with the
> > shrinkwrap license in place), are you bound by the license if
> you break open
> > the shrink wrap? Does the license bind a thief as well as a buyer?
>
> Oh come on! You of all people should know this one. The copy is stolen
> property. Anything done with it other than returning it is illegal. The
> thief has zero rights.
>
> --
> David Johnson...
> _____________________________
> http://www.usermode.org
>