Who Owns Software?

SeeSp0tRun writes to remind us of Blizzard's lawsuit against MDY Industries over the Glider cheat. It seems that Blizzard is pushing it even further. They're trying out the legal theory that a software creator retains complete control over how a program is used, meaning that anyone who uses it in a different way could be found guilty of copyright infringement, at $750 a pop. The EFF and Public Knowledge are among the organizations trying to assure that the court doesn't set a really bad precedent here.

Comments

Re:Obvious answer!

[neokushan]

In case anyone's wondering, I'm being extremely sarcastic here.
However, my absurdly ridiculous response is only half as ridiculous as what Blizzard is trying to say here.

How it's used?

[CannonballHead]

They want to keep the rights to how it is used? Hm. Does that mean they are responsible for how it is used, then? If someone uses it "wrong" and "hurts" me, does that mean I can sue the developer, since he is the one in charge of how it is used?

Re:How it's used?

[Anonymous Coward]

If we're to pay them for using it in ways we're not supposed to, then can we get payed every time their software does not work exactly the way its supposed to and crashes or messes up my system?

Re:How it's used?

[gstoddart]

Easy solution: You sell the software and I'll use it any way I damned well please, just as copyright law allows. If Blizzard gets away with this Congress needs to change copyright law.

Sadly, if Blizzard gets their way, then the recording and movie industries will want their way.

Something to the effect that playing a CD on a second CD player after I have already played it on the first CD player is illegal. Or, they'll get it in writing that there is no such thing as fair use, and the act of ripping a legally purchased CD to MP3s is now a Class A Felony.

Absolutely nothing about how governments have handled copyright over the last bunch of years tells me that they wouldn't make the situation even worse. The people who pay the bills have the deck stacked in their favor.

Thee and me? We don't count because we don't contribute enough to their campaigns -- and, they contribute to everyone's campaign.

Cheers

Re:How it's used?

[sm62704]

recording companies actually sell you licenses to listen to the songs on a CD

If there's a license, then where's my copy of the license? When did I sign a license agreement to play my CD?

I signed no agreement and clicked through no EULA. There is no license! With software, the license is debatable; I've been shown where under some circumstances EULAs can be enforceable (although I still doubt it), but when you buy a music CD you own the CD and are free to do anything you wish with it except distribute copies of it.

Downloaded tracks are another matter entirely. When you "buy" from iTunes or any other online "store" you do indeed click an agreement. Rent DRM-infested, lossy music from iTunes instead of buying a CD? Just a bad decicion. Once you have the physical CD you can legally do as you damned well please with it (save distributing copies), including making MP3s for your iPod and copies of it for your car.

Don't swallow the corporate bullshit. You still have a few rights, at least don't fight against them.

Good luck with that

[Mr. Underbridge]

I'm no lawyer, but even I recognize that what they're talking about is simply a matter of contract law. You have your EULA, enforce it. It's not a matter of copyright law, no matter how convenient that would make things for them thanks to the insane penalties that accompany it.

Re:WTF

[Uncle Focker]

I think you misread the quoted section. Blizzard is trying to claim that you are engaging in copyright infringement whenever portions of WoW get copied into RAM. Which is extremely ludicrous because of the fact that these portions of the program have to be copied into RAM to fucking run it. Here's from Public Knowledge:

In this case, Blizzard is saying that any user who runs Glider while playing WoW is infringing Blizzard's copyrights. This is despite the fact that Glider doesn't make any copies of WoW. Instead, Blizzard claims that any time a user runs WoW, the copy of the game (or the portions of it) that are copied into RAM are infringements. Or, at least, they would be, but for the generosity of Blizzard, which grants users a license to make these RAM copies. Utter fucking lunacy.

Re:Obvious answer!

[PopeRatzo]

I agree with the GGP, too. I'm so sick of the games software vendors are playing with licenses, EULAs, phoning home and other DRM, I find it much easier and more efficient to just steal the stuff.

There are a surprising number of cases in my computing life where I've bought a legit license to software, but used the cracked version just because it doesn't fuck with me. In most cases, I don't have anything against the developer, so I don't want to steal from them, but I do not want to be fucked with and pay hundreds of dollars for the privilege.

Since I'm well aware that I'm not exceptional, I have to assume other people do the same thing.