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To: Star Traveler
software developers could write software so that the end-user could do anything they wanted to do it, rewrite certain sections, resell it, pass it on as a subsequent work that they did on top of that software

By virtue of having written a program, a developer automatically retains the exclusive right for all of that under copyright. Except reselling it -- he doesn't have the right to restrict resale. Specifically, those two actions fall under the exclusive right of a copyright holder to create derivative works. No EULA is needed to protect against the end-user doing those things.

In the case of free (but not public domain) software, a license is given. That license is what lets others freely distribute the work, and make derivative works, without infringing on the author's copyright.

206 posted on 12/17/2009 2:39:20 PM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: antiRepublicrat

The bottom line here is that whatever restrictions that the software developers want to put on their software to make money is what they do... :-)


209 posted on 12/17/2009 3:28:46 PM PST by Star Traveler (The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a Zionist and Jerusalem is the apple of His eye.)
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