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Subject: Software Licensing & Games Posting - GET REAL

Author: Chuck

Date: 18:30:31 06/22/99


Recently there have been several messages concerning the legality of posting
games played by a computer when the software license restricts this.

I don't see how this can be restricted. The moves of a chess game are obviously
public domain (i.e., they belong to no one). If GM's cannot restrict us from
posting their games any way we want, how does some programmer think he has
the right? So what happens to the software's opponents' right to the game
score? Oh, programmer's think they have carte blanche to put any crap they
can think up in a license agreement. To me this part of the license is
a violation of the First Amendment! Which of those will hold water?

I can legitamtely agree that the software-generated analysis might be the
property of the software, but no way the move list. And when you compare
the rights of GM's, their analysis gets posted all over the place. If we
allow these licenses to be binding, we give the machinery more rights than
we have.

Most software companies have absurd license agreements anyway, but these
programmers must be on crack when they come up with this junk. As I said,
the score of a chess game is the property of NO one, and can be publicly
published at any time, no matter who the participants were.

Chuck



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