This is often depending on the amount of money handed over too... if I get something for free and it doesn't work then I can hardly expect to be able to take it back for repair/replacement/etc. if I pay a token fee for it the same will likely apply. however if I pay, say a few hundred dollars for a certain other distro then yes, under such laws that certain other distro may end up responsible for the code.
is it just me or is -private starting to look like -legal? *nudges the discussion over to -legal* (please don't reply to both -private *and* -legal!) - samj -----Original Message----- From: Jesus M. Gonzalez-Barahona [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, 19 April 2001 1:24 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Need legal advice regarding CSS in Germany Siggi Langauf writes: > On Mon, 16 Apr 2001, T.Pospisek's MailLists wrote: > > [parts of the GPL are viod in Switzerland] > > > I am surprised to hear that. Which parts don't hold up? > > > > The parts about liability("NO WARRANTY"). Allthough it has not yet been > > proved in court, the current opinion on local lugs mailing lists is > > that in switzerland you *are* liable for the code you write. This opinion > > is aparently backed by some experts in the field (i.e. advocates). And I > > think the nearly meaningless generalisation "there are similar laws > > outside switzerland as well though, unfortunately" (refering to an > > original statement by Anthony T.) applies as well. > > Yes, the same thing applies here in Germany. Again, not proven in court, > but backed up by advocates. I've heard of a legal study in France about the applicability of GPL (I've3 not read it, but people of my confidence have explained its results to me). It states that GPL is valid in France, and is in conformance with the EU directives applicable (mainly those related to consumers rights). The point seems to be that getting a GPLed program is not, in the general case, an economic transaction, since the original author gets nothing from the consumer. On the other hand, those companies selling distributions (including those selling Debian) could be obligued by the EU legislation on consumer rights, but that does not affect the GPL or the relationship between the copyright owner and the consumer (note that GPL talks about lack of warranty by the copyright holder, not, for instace, by the company selling a distribution). A similar study has been made in Spain, with similar results, but in this case by a student of Law, not by a lawyer. In any case, the same people who told me about this did also told me that all these studies are just that, studies. Nothing is settled until there is (long) history of testing in court. Saludos, Jesus. -- Jesus M. Gonzalez Barahona | Grupo de Sistemas y Comunicaciones [EMAIL PROTECTED] / [EMAIL PROTECTED] | ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos tel: +34 91 664 74 67 | c/ Tulipan s/n fax: +34 91 664 74 90 | 28933 Mostoles, Spain -- Please respect the privacy of this mailing list. To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
