Hi, I wrote
> >> or create a program to modify iDVD for others. > > > >Why not? > Alan responded... > ...Apple licensed the MPEG2 > software in iDVD on the basis it was bundled with their burner... OK, so I imagine their license says something like "only licensed for use with ..." Fine. > However, the end users didn't sign any such licensing agreement. Well, perhaps by extension (i.e. acceptance of the software licenses) they did. > So Apple > has tried to use copyright laws to force compliance, whether that makes > sense or not. As is usual when a big company makes legal threats, the fear > of expensive litigation allows them to prevail without having this dubious > rationale decided by a judge. I'd like to know, if I distributed a program that changed bytes in someone else's copy of iDVD, exactly what Apple would accuse me of doing? It may well be that the someone else would be violating a (dubious) license agreement, but the provider of the patch code isn't distributing iDVD in any way. <aside> You know, I read an essay the other day about how Disney literally owns part of your mind. Suppose you get on a stage and start telling the people around you about your childhood memories. Suppose you recall a song Annette Funicello and friends used to sing (OK, I'm dating myself here...) and you tell the people the words to the song you remember. OK, you've just performed a Disney property. And if they owned it when you spoke it, do they own it when it's in your head. You know songs you "can't get out of your head because they play over and over..." Do you have permission to do that? </aside> So again I ask: on what basis would one consider it to be a copyright violation to distribute software that modifies legally owned software? I'm not just asking this to be peevish; I write software for a living, and sometimes I do have to write code that works with vendor code in ways that aren't forseeable. Around here we push our computers to the edge, and we don't always do it in vendor-suggested ways. When people start thinking that's illegal somehow, and when (relatively) influential writers like Dan Knight start acting like it is, that worries me somehow. Best wishes, -greg -- G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
