An interesting legal precedent - software licensing
This will have some interesting repercussions -- from
The Register:
US court says software is owned, not licensed
Software company Autodesk has failed in its bid to prevent the second-hand sale of its software. After a long-running legal battle, it has not been able to convince a court that its software is merely licensed and not sold.
Like many software publishers, Autodesk claims that it sells only licences to use its software and that those who pay for it do not necessarily have the right to sell it on. It sued Timothy Vernor, who was selling legitimate copies of Autodesk software on eBay, for copyright infringement.
The US District Court for the Western District of Washington has backed Vernor, though, in his claim that he owned the software and had the right to sell it on.
What makes this interesting is that if I upgrade my copy of Xyzzy, I can now sell the older version as I own it. The software companies claim that I own the license and that the license is transferred with the upgrade.
I am willing to bet that AutoDesk is not going to let this ruling sit and they are going to pursue it in a higher Court until they get their way...
Posted by DaveH at October 9, 2009 12:44 PM
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