[Info-vax] The Doom of VAX VMS Hobbyist Licenses?

[Phillip Helbig undress to reply]

In article <rf5g0j$ll0$1 at dont-email.me>, Dave Froble
<davef at tsoft-inc.com> writes: 

> >>>>> Try to get a commercial license.  Buy it from someone.  If someone sells
> >>>>> it to you, and you bought it in good faith, I don't see any legal
> >>>>> problems.
> >>>>
> >>>> Actually Phillip, that is illegal under the license terms.
> >>>
> >>> What is illegal?
> >>
> >> A DEC software license is not transferable by the licensee.
> >>
> >> Your $300 transfer was something DEC did, not the licensee.
> >
> > Yes, of course, the $300 transfer was paid to DEC, but involved the
> > transfer of license from one person to another, so obviously they can be
> > transferred.
> >
> > Or are you saying that if someone paid, say, $5000 for a license, he is
> > not allowed to sell it---for any price---but can only agree to have it
> > transferred (with someone paying $300 to DEC)?
> >
> 
> That is exactly what I'm saying.
> 
> A license has no value, it is not property.  At least with DEC software 
> licenses, it is an agreement between DEC and the user, and cannot be 
> sold or transferred.  Only DEC could transfer a license.

OK, so find someone with a license who is willing to transfer it, then 
contact HP and ask how to pay the $300.

> Users paid a fee to use the software.  It's a bit like rent.  You don't 
> own the house after paying rent for years, do you?

That's why I own my house.  :-)

Business models differ.  With the Amazon Kindle, theoretically you lease 
or rent the eBooks, and Amazon can (and sometimes has) changed the 
content or even deleted them.  Other business models involve BUYING an 
eBook in ePub format, which belongs to me as much as a paper book that 
I've bought: It is my property, they aren't allowed to change it or 
delete it, I can sell it, someone can inherit it, and so on.  (To 
prevent abuse, it is usually tied to my Adobe-ID or has a digital 
watermark.)