VMWare / Wine

[Eric Dunbar]

On 23/02/07, Derek Broughton <news at pointerstop.ca> wrote:
> Matthew Flaschen wrote:
>
> > Derek Broughton wrote:
> >
> >>   I admit I'm not [a lawyer], but my reading of Canadian law tells me I'm
> >>   very
> >> well within my rights to use an OEM licensed version of Windows on the
> >> same hardware for which that license was issued.
> >
> > I don't think so.  Perhaps if you used Microsoft Virtual PC?
>
> No, that would satisfy Microsoft, but Canadian law doesn't have the same
> sorts of restrictions that US law has (as the RIAA and others have been
> complaining).  We don't have legal support for DRM, and we have _explicit_
> rights to copy audio and video recordings (that we own) for our personal
> use.  While I don't know of case law to back up the use of software in a
> situation like this, it's certainly analogous and I feel on very safe
> ground to assume I'd win if MS wanted to try to take me to a Canadian
> court.  After all, I haven't made more copies of the software than MS's
> EULA tells me I can make AND I'm running it on exactly the same hardware.

If the terms of the EULA are not explicitly prohibited by law I
suspect they will stand if MS could take you to court. If you're
running your OEM install of Windows as a private individual without
running a second "instance" or having a second install I doubt they'd
waste their time on a court case, but, if you were a business trying
to get around the restrictions of the EULA[1] then that would be an
entirely different kettle of fish and they probably would send you a
stern letter.

[1] Although restrictions on EULA may seem onerous there is some
justifiable and reasonable logic to them -- oftentimes the OEM
installs of Windows or other software (whether MS or 3rd party) are
provided to the manufacturer at a deep discount which in turn allows
the end user to get the OS/software much cheaper than they otherwise
would. Consider the cost of a stand-alone versions of Word or Windows
XP (when new)/Vista -- combine the two and a non-academic user could
pay upwards of $500+ if they were bought separate from a computer. On
many i86 PCs you'll get the whole PC for well under $1000, including a
Windows OS (which does not net MS much in terms of sales since they
don't get a cut of the hardware like Apple does, for e.g.), and,
sometimes (as was the case for a friend) Word.