Author: Tim Mirabile
Date: 19:24:41 07/22/98
What is missing from all these piracy discussions is the concept of "fair use". It is this concept which allows libraries to lend books, and people to sell, lend, or give away their used books, photocopy small portions, use their VCRs to record TV programs and watch them later, copy music CDs onto a cassette in order to listen to them in the car, etc. But you cannot legally photocopy an entire book or tape a CD and give it to a friend. We do not go into a bookstore and find all the books shrink-wrapped with license agreements stating we cannot give the book away, lend it, sell it, etc. once we are done with it, because these provisions simply would not hold up in court. In fact, many software license agreements are using language to the effect that you can use the program "just like a book", and some even allow you to install a single copy on two machines as long as there is no possibility that both copies will be used at the same time. It is possible that more restrictive language than this would not hold up under fair use, since I could, at some inconvenience, de-install the program from my desktop and install it to my laptop, and vice versa, depending on which machine I wanted to use. It is only common sense that not bothering to go through these motions is still a fair use of the program. (Insert usual disclaimer about not being a lawyer...)
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