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From: mlinar@poisson.usc.edu (Mitch Mlinar)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Converting MicroSoft C to Turbo C
Message-ID: <3284@oberon.USC.EDU>
Date: Thu, 9-Jul-87 21:06:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: oberon.3284
Posted: Thu Jul  9 21:06:30 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 12-Jul-87 09:09:28 EDT
References: <381@aucs.UUCP> <875@kodak.UUCP> <1206@ihlpm.ATT.COM> <1060@killer.UUCP> <305@ashtate.UUCP>
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Reply-To: mlinar@poisson.usc.edu.UUCP (Mitch Mlinar)
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In article <305@ashtate.UUCP> cy@ashtate.UUCP (Cy Shuster) writes:
>
>Just a reminder: most software is not *sold* to you, but *licensed* for
>your use only. The MS License Agreement reads: "As the LICENSEE, you own
>the magnetic or other media on which the SOFTWARE is originally or subse-
>quently recorded or fixed, but Microsoft retains title and ownership of the
>SOFTWARE recorded on the original disk and all subsequent copies... In no
>event may you transfer, assign, rent, lease, sell, or otherwise dispose of 
>the SOFTWARE..."

Cy, you are either badly mis-informed or have bad eyesight.  Thoroughly read
the Microsoft agreement and you will see there is nothing that prevents you
from selling it, erasing it, throwing it out, etc.

There is MUCH judicial precedence that if you purchase an item, you can do what
you wish with it (within other laws, of course).  Check with your Ashton-Tate
lawyer, and have her/him check two separate cases of xxxx vs Ford (regarding a
Pinto xxxx owned) and yyyy vs TI (HP?) - both from 15 years or more ago -
if s/he is THAT rusty.  (Sorry I can't give you case #'s, I am not a
lawyer by profession, just have and continue to do a LOT of computer work
with them.)

I have read Ashton-Tate's old agreement - it does not claim this either.  It
is well known (among lawyers who are computer oriented anyway), that most of
the license agreements would crumble under serious judicial scrutiny.  I have
examples where computer company 'x' attempted to block 'y' from selling
product 'z' (originally developed by 'x') for some reason or another, and
failed.  (I was involved in several of them as a consultant.)  I would be
happy to put you in touch with my lawyer to set you straight :-) :-)

-Mitch