Monday, January 11, 2016
Ninth Circuit Appeals Court Decision On Fair Use And Right Of First Sale Fails To Budge The Needle On Either Issue
Techdirt: A ruling on fair use, the right of first sale and the limits of trademark protection has been handed down by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel. Normally, I'd proceed the word "ruling" with an adjective like "important," or "terrible," or "wonderful." But this ruling is none of those. It's a ruling, and I suppose it does set some sort of precedent, but thanks mainly to Adobe's inept handling of the case, it does very little to clarify any of the above issues.
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Software has gotten a lot more complicated to purchase and install over the last decade or so. It used to be that you went to the store, bought the software you wanted and installed it on your computer. Now, you have to deal with all sorts of agreements, different software packages, and activation codes. While I do think that it is important to ensure that software is actually purchased and not stolen, it also seems that it is more complicated that it needs to be. I have heard the terms and conditions of software, etc. referred to as “CTA” or Click-Through Agreements because nobody actually reads the terms, they just click ‘next’. If the language were common, it would be easier to get people to understand (though maybe not to get them to agree to) the terms. On one hand, purchasing software makes it yours and you can do what you want with it, but any extras or upgrades will mean spending extra money. Licensing, on the other hand, tends to open up more possibilities for updates and upgrades at limited or no cost, especially for those with a monthly fee. In the end, I just think that most software is too expensive.
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