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Re: [PLUG] Interesting thread on SEUL-EDU mailing list...
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Well I still don't think BSA has as much power as people assume they
do. It's just like the IRS. Did you know you can tell them that you
refuse to be audited at a certain time or day because it's inconvenient,
and they have to reschedule it for you?
I don't think you have to retain the paper license thingies to prove you
own the software. If I have a reciept that I paid for 100 copies of
software X, and I have 100 PCs with software X installed, then I don't
think there is anything that MS or anyone else can do against me, papers
or not. (and a lot of software doesn't even come with those nifty shiny
metalic papers, does that somehow mean that it's copyright isn't
enforcible?). If I paid for something, and I didn't sell it, then I own
title to it, and if I have a claim to the title of a copy of software,
nobody is going to make me pay again for it.
How exactly would BSA have the power to enforce Fines? Last I checked,
gov't agencies are the only ones that can impose fines, and even those can
be disputed.
-- noah silva
On Wed, 24 Apr 2002, Kyle R . Burton wrote:
> > It's obvious that the goal of MS here is to get the schools to pay for a
> > copy of windows on every PC, wether is is used or not, in the hopes that
> > it will foster an attitude of "well we paid for it, we may as well use it,
> > instead of fussing with this 'linux' junk"... just like the contracts with
> > the PC makers, where they have to pay for windows on each PC, installed
> > or not.
>
> Yes. That is something that frustrates me at a personal level.
>
> > I don't see why a school would go along with this though, I don't see that
> > MS has any power to force an audit, and even if they did, what does the
> > school have to hide? Even if they have some unlicensed copies, it would
> > still be less than the total number of computers if they are using other
> > OSs elsewhere.
>
> I think the arrement allows teachers to additionaly use the software at
> home for school activities. One, apparently, rarely considered aspect
> of that is that they're not permitted to use it at home for non-school
> related activites, and another issue that (I think this is something that
> MS is using as leverage to get the schools to pay for blanket licenses
> regardless of usage) is that a teacher might leave the school (get another
> job).
>
> MS has the power to force an audit through the BSA. Since most school
> districts are run/owned by local government, that gives the BSA more
> leagal/political power over school districts.
>
> The problem with software audits is that they cost the school significant
> resources that they don't have -- they have to set aside personell to
> organize and collect the licenses, and find out how many installed versions
> of each peice of software there are (remember, if you're not under the
> agreement, a teacher's persnal pc isn't covered, so that's potentialy
> several licneses that someone has to pay for).
>
> Another really sad issue relating to this is that for years and years,
> most people have felt that the paper license agreement had no value.
> So most users are trained (and that training is re-enforced by other users)
> to not bother to keep track of it -- or commonly throw it away. Sysadmins
> also have a tendancy to do this because they don't want to bother keeping,
> and maintaining filing cabnets full of license agreements. So the schools
> face a kind of double jeopardy with the audit -- they may have paid for
> 100 copies of windows and 100 copies of MS office, but still have paper
> licenses for only 50 of those -- which is in the eyes of the BSA the same
> thing as 50 unlicensed copies, which _must_ be paid for.
>
> A BSA audit can result in fines, not just the need to purchase new licenses.
> MS is offering the blanket agreement as a way to avoid all the hastle of
> an audit. Its not quite exactly unlike extortion (IMO).
>
> I'm not a lawyer, and I'm not completely versed in all of the details, but
> I can imagine that MS has alot of opportunity to take advantage of user
> ignorance to use strong-arm tactics to get the schools to sign up for the
> blanket agreements.
>
>
> I'm going to stop now because I'm getting worked up about this :)
>
> Kyle
>
> --
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Wisdom and Compassion are inseparable.
> -- Christmas Humphreys
> mortis@voicenet.com http://www.voicenet.com/~mortis
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
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> Announcements-http://lists.phillylinux.org/mail/listinfo/plug-announce
> General Discussion - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mail/listinfo/plug
>
>
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