[issues] Re: [techtalk] Free FrameMaker beta for Linux

[Kelly Lynn Martin]

On Fri, 25 Feb 2000 23:18:32 -0600, Robert Kiesling <kiesling at mainmatter.com> said:

>I'm not sure I agree with the FSF's opinion on UCITA.  I thought the
>GPL was just another instance of a shrink-wrap license.  

Pretty much.  If UCITA passes, the GPL will probably be easier to
enforce because the law will now recognize the ability of licenses
like the GPL to bind licensees.  At least, that's what attorney Andrew
Greenberg said when this issue came up on Slashdot, and my own
analysis tends to confirm his.  Andrew is a software programmer turned
attorney and tends to be pretty spot-on when it comes to legal issues
related to computing.

If the FSF objects to the substantive provisions of the UCITA that
relate to software licensing, they're too late: most of those
provisions ratify existing decisional law, or merely serve to make
clear that the general law of commerce applies to transactions in
software licenses.  However, UCITA also attempts to create a
proprietary property right in raw data, and it's this that I object
to.  Adobe, however, is not a purveyor of data, and therefore is not
going to benefit from UCITA in this regard.  

Kelly

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