On 2006-10-24, Stefan Monnier <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >>> ...you're perfectly entitled to install and run GPL'd software without >>> accepting the GPL, because those rights are already conferred to you by >>> the fair use doctrine of copyright. > >> They are conferred[1], but not by fair use (in the US). > >> [1] More precisely, they are not reserved for the copyright owner. > > I'm not sure I understand. What/who confers them then?
Copyright law. There's explicit clauses in most copyright laws that say the executing/running of software is always permitted (provided you obtained the software legally). Any copies you need to make to run the software are not covered by copyright. This is not the same as "fair use". It's a separate article of copyright law that says you can do this. For fair use, you need to do a four-factor test: the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, amount and substantiality of the portion used, and the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. This is vague and sometimes difficult to prove. Fortunately, when you legally acquire a copy of a computer program, you don't have to do that: you can run it as much as you want. Merijn -- Remove +nospam to reply _______________________________________________ gnu-misc-discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnu-misc-discuss
