Re: What's the status of sourceless live linux distros?

[Bruce Lewis]

Alexander Terekhov <terekhov@web.de> writes:

> You didn't ask me and I made no promise. I made a copy. I own it. 
> It's legal. You have no rights to control further transfer under 
> copyright law.

A very interesting argument.  Do you teach classes at a nonprofit
learning institution?  Here's something I'd like you to try: Make 30
legal copies (fair use) of part of a copyrighted work, say, Star Wars.
Use these copies teaching a class on moviemaking or somesuch.  So far so
good, no?  You haven't made any agreement with the copyright owners and
all your copies are legal.  Just like the situation with GPLed works and
copies under 17 USC 117.

Next, transfer these copies outside the fair-use context they were
originally made in.  For example, put up a web page offering to give
them away on a first-come first-serve basis.  Then follow up to this
thread and let us know how it went, assuming they give you Usenet access
from prison.  What, they didn't buy your arguments about first sale?
What were they thinking?  Maybe you just need a better lawyer.

If you assert that the linux distro scenario is any different from the
Star Wars one, please explain why legal copies under 17 USC 117 are any
more freely distributable than legal copies under 17 USC 107.  If you
want to concede that you're wrong, just post some expletives and tell
everyone to re-read what you wrote before.