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Re: [upcoming] The European Court of Justice on 'Software' First Sale


From: Alexander Terekhov
Subject: Re: [upcoming] The European Court of Justice on 'Software' First Sale
Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2012 10:44:08 +0200

Richard Tobin wrote:
> 
> In article <5065832F.12351CF9@web.de>,
> Alexander Terekhov  <terekhov@web.de> wrote:
> 
> >Thus copies made under copyleft (and other public licenses) fall under
> >exhaustion doctrine preventing copyright owners (licensors) using tort
> >theory (copyright infringement claims) regarding control of terms and
> >conditions for further distribution.
> 
> Right, and I hear that in the US income tax is unconstitutional.

<quote author=Hollaar>

In article <43DB926D...@web.de> tere...@web.de writes:
>"Licenses are not contracts: the work's user is obliged to remain
>within the bounds of the license not because she voluntarily promised,
>but because she doesn't have any right to act at all except as the
>license permits." [quoting Eben Moglen]

That might be true IF "she doesn't have any right to act at all except
as the license permits."  But as I have pointed out here and in my
comments to the FSF regarding the new GPLv3, that is not the case.
United States copyright law provides a number of exceptions to the
exclusive rights of the copyright owner, including "first sale" as
covered in 17 U.S.C. 109 and the right in 17 U.S.C. 117 of the owner
of a copy of a computer to reproduce or adapt it if necessary to use
it.

The convenient redefinition of things in the GPL reminds me of a
quote from Abraham Lincoln:

     How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?
     Four.  Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.

</quote>

Note that Hollar worked with the Chief Judge and the Chief 
Intellectual Property Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee 
on Internet, copyright, and patent issues as a Committee Fellow...


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