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Jim Ramsay wrote: |
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> 2.5.1 You may not modify, adapt, translate or create derivative works |
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> based upon the Software. You may not reverse engineer, decompile, |
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> disassemble or otherwise attempt to discover the source code of the |
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> Software... |
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> |
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> Anyone care to weigh in, lawyer or not? |
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> |
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|
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Obviously I'm not a lawyer but I don't see an issue here. I don't see |
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that Gentoo or its developers are in any way a party to this agreement. |
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This is an agreement between Adobe and those who distribute its |
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software. Some argue that EULAs also apply to those who use software |
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(which is debatable), but Gentoo does not use this software either (to |
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my knowledge). |
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|
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Gentoo distributes ebuilds - which are not the property of Adobe and are |
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not derivative works of any of Adobe's software. A user who executes an |
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ebuild might obtain a copy of an Adobe product that Adobe distributes. |
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A user who executes an ebuild might create a derivative work of an Adobe |
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product, and users who use proprietary software are advised to consult |
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with lawyers as appropriate if they are concerned about the terms of |
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license agreements that they may or may not be parties to. |
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|
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To me this is kind of like RiffTrax or similar along-side products that |
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allow users to improve the experience of using a copyrighted work, but |
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which are not themselves derivatives of copyrighted works. If a user |
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using one of these products happens to create a derivative work that is |
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a matter between them and the copyright owner. If such work is |
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occurring without further distribution in an end-user context it is |
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likely to be considered fair use. |
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|
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Gentoo doesn't distribute software (well, except to the degree that we |
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mirror it). Gentoo makes it easier for users to use software that |
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others distribute. As a result, Gentoo stays fairly clear of copyright |
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law, and we do make a good-faith effort to not mirror content which we |
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are not licensed to redistribute. |
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|
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That is my personal take on things like this, but again, I'm not a |
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lawyer and others might not agree (makes no difference to me one way or |
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another if you don't). :) |
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