Well, is it? Many people ask me this question! I feel the only way to answer it is by explain things like copyright and license protection. How do they work and what does it mean.
Let us start with Copyright. Wikipedia.org defines Copyright as “a legal concept, enacted by governments, giving the creator of an original work of authorship exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time, after which the work enters the public domain. Generally, it is “the right to copy”, but also gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the work, who may financially benefit from it, and other, related rights. It is an intellectual property form (like the patent, the trademark, and the trade secret) applicable to any expressible form of an idea or information that is substantive and discrete.” – Jul 26, 2008
This is a very simple and explicit definition for copyright. This can be applied for Software, but it applies more nowadays to Movies and Music. Lets use this example:
I just bought the Batman Begins DVD (Okay So Im a Bat Freak!) and I want to make a copy of it So I don’t scratch the original. You are legally authorize to make as many copies as you want as long as they are for you (that includes your household). Now let’s say you lend someone your copy, then your still okay because you lend it to him. That means it is still yours, but he or she should give it back because it’s not theirs. You can’t make copies of a DVD and give them to your friends. If you do then you are breaking copyright laws. The same thing applies to Music. Only the owner should have a physical or digital copy of the item. Also, when you download Movies ans Music of the Internet you are also breaking copyright laws. Unless you own it you can’t download it.
Now let’s talk about licenses. Al PC Software comes with a license agreement. Wikipedia.org defines it as “a memorandum of contract between a producer and a user of computer software which grants the user a software license. Most often, a software license agreement indicates the terms under which an end-user may utilize the licensed software, in which case the agreement is called an end-user license agreement or EULA. When the software license agreement is between the software licensor and a business or government entity, it is often implemented as a specialized form of contract with many clauses unique to the license and the nature of the software being licensed.” Jul 26, 2008.
This one is a bit more tricky. Why? Because software can be installed and used on many computer at the same time. A License will tell you what you can and can’t do with the software. Look at it this way. You have a small business with three Computers. You want to install Microsoft Office 2007 on all of them. You are authorized to install it on all of them, but You can only use the program on one computer at a time. So when Bobby is on PC 2 using Word 2007, Susie on PC1 and John on PC 3 can’t use any Office Applications. It’s not that the Computer won’t let you, cause you can, but if you do then you are breaking your license agreement. You need to buy a separate license for each computer. Luckily buying the license is cheaper than buying a new CD with a new license. Now if you install this Software on a friend’s laptop then you are already breaking your license agreement because you can only install it on Computers that are your possession.
All these copyright and licensing laws are confusing and tricky so be careful. Use good judgment when downloading software. Look for Free alternatives to costly software (Exa. Freeware) and try Music Services like Yahoo Music, Napster, Ipod and Zune Music Store, where you don’t have to buy the whole CD just the songs you like. If a friend of your lends you Office 2007 and you install it with his or hers licesnce on your PC and you use it, then you are breaking
I hope this helps.
