Who Owns Software? 531
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.
Re:Obvious answer! (Score:5, Insightful)
However, my absurdly ridiculous response is only half as ridiculous as what Blizzard is trying to say here.
How it's used? (Score:5, Insightful)
Does this mean (Score:2, Insightful)
Good luck with that (Score:5, Insightful)
Retaining control of the usage (Score:3, Insightful)
If a precedent is set to this effect, I would gladly advocate violating the "rights" of everyone involved in this decision. I really cannot understand why people like this are tolerated. Deport them. Imprison them. Kill them. But get rid of them.
Re:How it's used? (Score:5, Insightful)
Watch for criminal manslaughter charges.... (Score:3, Insightful)
If someone dies playing it, then it's how they intended the game to function, with manslaughter charges to follow...
Granted, this is an extremist point of view, but if they are going to take charge of how the game is played, then they must take responsibility to all effects the game has on the gamer.
You cannot take the right without the responsibility.
Re:Good luck with that (Score:3, Insightful)
Interesting theory, there (Score:0, Insightful)
"should not" and "cannot" are two very different words.
The wealthy can do all kinds of things they shouldn't be able to do. This business of suing you if you use "my" software in a way of which I disapprove, but being held blameless if you harm someone else by doing so, is a good example.
RAM as a copy (Score:2, Insightful)
Surely copyright law should only deal with those aspects of copying that affect distribution. Not use.
Re:WTF (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This is what comes... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Good luck with that (Score:3, Insightful)
Blizzard of course, can reject your business and has refund plans set up for that, but it's their responsibility to set and/or enforce whatever guidelines that they come up with; not the player's responsibilities.
Another /. double standard (Score:1, Insightful)
Either you:
(A) agree the EULA is enforceable, and then Glider is a contract violation.
(B) claim the EULA is invalid, in which case you have no license to use the software, and then its a copyright violation.
This was the same with SCO, except the license in question was the GPL.
Re:This is getting stupid. (Score:3, Insightful)
Note on the wiki for EULA software licenses [wikipedia.org], that post-purchase licenses are have been ruled both ways before. I think this example applies to Blizzard, however:
"In Specht v. Netscape Communications Corp., however, the licensee was able to download and install the software without first being required to review and positively assent to the terms of the agreement, and so the license was held to be unenforceable."
You have the software before you agree, so I suspect it may not be enforceable. I'm not a lawyer, please correct me if I am wrong.
Re:This is what comes... (Score:1, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:How it's used? (Score:3, Insightful)
Online gaming sacrificed for greater good (Score:3, Insightful)
So, unfortunately, online gamers, but, gaming has to the needs of humanity for a free market. So, there's always going to be cheaters and you'll never really have an honest online game experience with strangers. About the best that Blizzard could do would be to try and have a secure link of some sort to dissuade developers from writing cheat-bots.
Re:IAAAL (I am almost a lawyer) but... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:How it's used? (Score:5, Insightful)
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:This is what comes... (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Obvious answer! (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:How it's used? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:How it's used? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Online gaming sacrificed for greater good (Score:3, Insightful)
Basically WoW takes your time, and converts it into in game coolness--level, weapons, outfits, items, etc. Your time is basically the only game currency--when you eliminate the need to put in time, you're effectively cheating. No, you're not hacking the game code, or abusing the servers, but you ARE cheating.
Re:How it's used? (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
please no! (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm just dying for writing interesting EULAs that disallow you from using my software during full moon on thursdays if there is a cat in the house, or to write any letters that are stupid, or to access any website that contains the word "republican".
Please. The more idiotic, stupid and obvious the rules get, the better our chances that they're reworked altogether, instead of simply being patched onto indefinitely.
Re:Blizzard already lost.... (Score:3, Insightful)
I really tried very hard to persist and find interest in the game after lvl70. I got two toons to that level.
I got into a raiding guild and did some raiding... and it was boring as hell.
I went back to alts and thats actually interesting and exciting; there are still so many aspects of this game and areas that I have yet to explore. Its a huge world; see it from Horde and Alliance perspective.
Using a cheat to get a toon to 70 is just a huge waste of time and money. Its the leveling process thats really interesting and where you actually learn to play.
By having 'Glided' your way to 70 I am guessing that your ability to play your class will be about as good as someone who bought their account on ebay.
In effect, you have cheated *yourself*.
Re:Obvious answer! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:How it's used? (Score:3, Insightful)
Now they are saying that beyond just the right to use the product, they can tell you how and where you can use the product. They keep tightening the screws on the users until something breaks.
The industry wants software treated like property when the terms favours them and a license when it favours them. You can't have it both ways.
Such actions by companies only encourages unauthorized copying. "If you don't respect me, I won't respect you" works in the software world just as much as everywhere else.
Re:Obvious answer! (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:It's up to the developer and consumer (Score:3, Insightful)
I find it much easier and mor effecient to find software that meets my needs.
If the developer wants to make crippleware and then try to get me to buy it, that's his choice. I make it very clear that doing this will kill sales. It's then up to the developer to balance the anal retentive need to prevent any piracy with the need to meet market demands to make sales.
Some prime examples.. Microsoft Office. One license, one machine and maybe a laptop by the same owner. Open Office. One license, free to install on any and all machines in your house and free to give away copies (following license terms to distribute source and the license intact). Same for Photoshop and the Gimp.
I picked up a copy of Light Factory. The original version had no copy protection other than encoding your user name into the installed product with an email registration. Your PC could be installed on your upgraded PC without phoning home. They then upgraded and used your hardware as a dongle like MS does with the WGA stuff. I didn't upgrade with Light Factory. I now use Freestyler.
Then there is the choice of OS. Needless to say, I'm not running anything with WGA. (I'm not pirating it either)
Re:Obvious answer! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Obvious answer! (Score:3, Insightful)
The thing that annoys me the most is that recently it started ignoring the "Pause Updating" option. I wanna play CS:S, so I pause the TF2 update. As soon as I launch CS:S Steam stealthily unpauses the update, causing ping times of 1000+ for me (crappy little DSL connection). And I say "stealthily" because when I alt-tab out, it still says the updating is "paused" but when I unpause it it somehow jumped ahead by a few percentage points to completion. I have to unpause and then pause again and THEN I can go back to the game and actually play....
Plus the ads are annoying (pop-ups? seriously?), and the games are priced at RETAIL prices. Hmm, I could spend the same amount of money and get the boxed version with manual at a store, or waste quite a few hours downloading a multi-gig title....