Re: non-free firmware in kernel modules, aggregation and unclear copyright notice.

Humberto Massa
2005-04-12T17:33:33Z

David Schwartz wrote:

>>David Schwartz <davids@webmaster.com> wrote: If you buy a
>>W*nd*ws install CD, you can create a derived work, e.g. an
>>image of your installation, under the fair use rights
>>(IANAL). Can you distribute that image freely?
>>
>
> I would say that if not for the EULA, you could
>transfer ownership of the image to someone else. And if you
>legally acquired two copies of Windows, you could install
>both of them and transfer them. Otherwise, you could not sell
>a machine with the Windows OS installed unless you were a
>Microsoft OEM. Does Microsoft take the position that if you
>want to sell your PC, you must wipe the OS? Not that I know
>of.
>
> DS

If you will keep your copy and registration # of windows, yes,
you *must* wipe out the machine before selling it.

The point is moot, anyway, because the image is *not* a
derivative work: It is a copy of the work, made by automated
and automatable processes. It's not a creation of the spirit.
So, no, when you get a WinXP CD from Microsoft, you have
absolutely *no* rights to create derivative works. If a person
creates a derivative work, even if it does not distribute it,
it would be infringing on MS's copyrights and I would not want
to be in said person's shoes, if someone in the legal
department of MS wakes up in the wrong side of the bed.

HTH,
Massa