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Fight Woodworking Piracy: Add EULA Restrictions
An anonymous reader writes "Ed Foster's Gripelog discusses EULA restriction on a new woodworking tool.
A small woodworking tool manufacturer, Stots Corporation, includes a license agreement on its TemplateMaster jig tool. The tool is licensed, not sold, and customers cannot sell it or lend it to others. Nor can they sell or lend the jigs they make with it. "Shrinkwrap licenses are showing up everywhere," a reader recently wrote. "I just bought a jig for making dovetailing jigs -- this is woodworker talk if it's unfamiliar to you. The master jig contained a license that says I've licensed the master jig, not bought it. The license says I can't lend or sell the master, and furthermore I can't lend or sell the jigs I make with the master."
The reader was referring to Stots Corporation of Harrods Creek, KY, and the user agreement for its TemplateMaster product. Sure enough, the Stots license says TemplateMaster may be used "in only one shop by the original purchaser only" and that "you may not allow individuals that did not purchase the original Product (to) use the Product or any templates produced using the Product..."
A FAQ document on the Stots website explains that the license is necessary because "the purpose of the TemplateMaster is to clone itself. Therefore we are verifying your honesty that only you will use the tool and you will not be passing it around to others to use for free. It is exactly the same as the 'shrink wrap' agreement that comes with almost all computer software. Please help us fight 'tool piracy'."
Please help us fight 'tool piracy'.
The only tool piracy crime being perpetraed is that the lawyers in that company are able to procreate without supervision.
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...Mastah Jig!
Yo wazzup y'all! Mastah Jig in the house! Word!
The sesame seeds contained in this package are inteded for consumption by the purchaser only. You hereby agree not to plant these seeds. Help us prevent plant piracy!
This is great! Pretty soon I can go through life without owning everything, and everything I use will essentially be rented. I will be relieved of the material need to own things. "Imagine a world with no posessions."
Not only that, if I get caught breaking the drug laws, the feds can't take anything that I own since I won't own anything. Best of all, when I get tired of my wife and daughter I just have to stop paying the license fees.
I'm free! Free! Free! This is better than living in New Hampshire!
Wife and daughter... Oh cr4p. I don't own anything anyway. This is bogus...
Consider Artificial Intelligence might never happen because if this kind of thing, bots could be unable to "clone themselves" due to End User License Agreement.
Poetry in motion
Why not just make a backup copy of it? If the whole point of it is to replicate itself then you can use it to make a backup of itself. Then if it breaks, just use the backup... or use the backup exclusively and store the original in a safe location. Or store your backup on Karpentryzaa (har har) for secure off-site backup.
Isn't it a violation of digital protection mechanisms when you hit your thumb with a hammer?
My tool has been used by way too many women far too long to make duplicates of me. In addition to charging women for the use of my instrument, I will require that they only use my hardware for personal use and not for creating pirated copies of myself.
I just lent my son a hammer for his school woodworking project.
If anyone asks for me, I'm in Mexico.
Find funky gifts
Screw the 20 story window. Throw the lawyer out of a 2nd story window, repeatedly. No use letting him die quick.
If this catches on I suggest you dump your E-Bay stock! I mean if you don't own it, how can you sell it?
Where's the "I'm not supposed to get jigs in it!" troll when you need him?
Use ISO 8601 dates [YYYY-MM-DD]
I might point out that the technical term for a soybean seed is. . . "soybean."
KFG
Obviously this has been a huge problem for jib makers for hundreds of years, which is why there are no more jig makers and this jig maker had to design their jib entirely from scratch with no prior knowledge of any other jig.
Oh wait.
The only tool piracy crime being perpetraed is that the lawyers in that company are able to procreate without supervision.
They aren't very smart either (or, alternatively, they are very smart).
From the article:
The master jig contained a license that says I've licensed the master jig, not bought it.
(...)
the Stots license says TemplateMaster may be used "in only one shop by the original purchaser only" and that "you may not allow individuals that did not purchase the original Product (to) use the Product (...)
(emphasis mine)
So you're not buying the product, and are not allowed to let anyone who didn't buy the product use it.
Ladies and gentlemen of the supposed jury, that does not make sense.!
A EULA restriction on a metal lathe because it can be used to make another lathe?
A license agreement on a ruler?
"These condoms may only be used for hetersexual sex in the Classic Missionary position. We reserve the right to monitor and record any and all incidences of use for compliance. For more information on our privacy policy..."
"These fertility drugs may only be used to produce intelligent children. Producing stupid children violates the terms of this agreement. This agreement can be terminated by either party without notice. Upon termination, all children and remaining medicinal doses must be immediately destroyed or returned to the manufacturer..."
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"Common sense will be the death of us all"
We need a service whereby illiterate people open all our software for us. In such a case, they cannot claim that we agreed to the license, nor could our agents as they cannot read ;-)
-------- -------- Support Wesley Clark for president!!!
one should not reasonably expect to make a living selling a product who's purpose is to replicate itself
I was thinking about dabbling in the slave trade, but you've persuaded me otherwise...
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