"I accept" button

[Lee,Benjamin S - LGA]

> If I legally aquire a piece of software then I have the legal right to
> use it for any legal purpose. Period. As a resident and citizen of the
> United States, this right is granted to me under both Copyright Law
and
> the US Commercial Code.

But what does it mean when you say "for any legal purpose"?  For any
purpose whatsoever?  For example, when you purchase a video cassette, do
you get 
-- right to public display of the content? (uhm, no)
-- right to public performance of the content? (no)
-- right to broadcast the content? (no)
... and of course you don't get to modify it or copy it in any shape
whatsoever...

The only clear right you have is to that darn physical cassette.  The
content on it is pretty much locked up by Disney et al.

So, clearly, when you say for "any legal purpose" under Copyright Law,
you mean only those purposes that the law allows... I think that may be
a more modest statement than your rhetoric may suggest at first glance.


> Not according to the US Commercial Code, as I understand it. 
> If you walk into 
> a store and purchase a shrink-wrapped copy of WindowsXP (as 
> an example), you 
> are the legal owner of that -copy-. 

I think you may be ingoring many years of serious (and boring) debate in
the legal community as to the proper handling of software under the
UCC...

Cheers -- Ben

benlee at att.com
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