Macromedia Flash 7 licensing: The devil is in the details
Friday June 04, 2004 (05:30 PM GMT)
By: Joe Barr
http://business.newsforge.com/business/04/06/04/1643234.shtml?tid=2&tid=82&tid=85&tid=94
Macromedia was trumpeting the news last week that a free version of its
popular Flash 7 Internet client was now available for Linux. The new
software gives Linux users greater access to multimedia content on the
Internet than they would otherwise have. But careful readers of the
licensing terms for Flash 7 urge caution for both end users and developers
of Linux distributions.
Under the terms of Macromedia's end user license agreement (EULA), you may
install the player on only a single computer. If your family has multiple
computers, I guess you're out of luck. The EULA specifically precludes
installation on anything but Windows, Mac, Linux or Solaris desktop
machines. If you're thinking of installing it on a laptop, forget it --
it's not allowed, nor are any other kinds of mobile computing devices.
If you're thinking this is silly or stupid, wait, there's more. Installing
the software signals your acceptance of the terms, and those terms also
include this little gem:
2. You agree that Macromedia may audit your use of the Software for
compliance with these terms at any time, upon reasonable notice.
In the event that such audit reveals any use of the Software by
you other than in full compliance with the terms of this Agreement,
you shall reimburse Macromedia for all reasonable expenses related
to such audit in addition to any other liabilities you may incur as
a result of such non-compliance.
Distribution problems?
NewsForge was contacted by Warren Woodford, creator of the MEPIS Linux
distribution, asking if we were aware of the restrictions on
redistribution of the Flash 7 player. We weren't, but we checked it out.
According to the Macromedia Web site, such distribution is limited to
Windows PCs. Period. There's no distribution allowed for ISVs or vendors
of Linux, Mac, or Solaris versions. Warren told us:
If Macromedia stands by the current agreements as presented on its
Web site, then I'll have to create some sort of installer helper so
users can easily download and install Flash 7 for themselves with the
installer package coming from the Macromedia site. That is what I
plan to do for other players, if necessary.
If there were an opportunity to reason with Macromedia and urge an
enlightened approach to Linux, I would point out the NVIDIA EULA,
which explicitly makes an exception for Linux and allows their drivers
to be redistributed as long as the components, including written EULA,
are not modified.
The terms for distribution of the Flash 7 player currently displayed at
the Macromedia Web site are very clear. They state "The free Macromedia
Flash and Shockwave Players Distribution Program is designed for ISPs,
enterprises, and software developers solely for the Windows PC (including
Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT, ME and XP)."
Since the press release announcing the availability of the Linux version
of Flash 7 contained endorsements by Novell, Red Hat, and Turbolinux, we
found the situation curious, to say the least. After querying Macromedia,
we received this response from company spokesperson Sandra Nakama:
We worked with the companies named in the release to enter into custom
agreements for them to distribute Flash Player 7. Now that we have
released the player we are going to revise the online licensing
agreement to reflect our support for redistribution of Flash Player
on Linux desktops.
So it appears the licensing issues restricting distribution of Flash 7 on
Linux are being addressed and will be removed. Still, for personal use,
keep the restrictions on multiple machines and laptops in mind, because
that auditing clause could bite you if you don't.
--
Sign the petition against Senator Lacson:
http://www.petitiononline.com/no2ping/petition.html
--[Manny [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Member: Philippine League for Democratic Telecommunications
"Affordable Access for All"
--[Open Minds Philippines]--------------------[openminds.linux.org.ph]--
--
Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph)
Official Website: http://plug.linux.org.ph
Searchable Archives: http://marc.free.net.ph
.
To leave, go to http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/plug
.
Are you a Linux newbie? To join the newbie list, go to
http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/ph-linux-newbie
