Re: "OT" [maybe]: "Software user's rights" (from djb)

Thanks for pointing that out.
I had a look (e.g., at
     http://www.ucita.com/who.html
)
and many of the co.'s,/.org's there, struck my eye:
--> Association for Computing Machinery
    (also known as acm.org, which I have been
        a member of for many years)
      [see my e-mail address]
--> MBNA
    (which is now part of Bank of America
       [which my son works for] )
--> Boeing
    (the job I moved to AZ for, in 1979, was to work
     [at Sperry Flight Systems]
     [now part of Honeywell]
     on software for the Flight Mgmt System, for
     the Boeing 757/767.)
USAA
Deere & Company
Caterpillar Inc.
Walgreen Corporation
    ...Wow!  Not some chicken feed companies!
my 0.02:
I am hoping that, as time goes on, software patents will
just, um, stop being a pain;  (somehow);  maybe that
seems like a miracle, but I think that even co.'s with
big patent portfolios (now), would not miss anything
about today's crazy system;  the
reduced income "if any" from licensing, would probably
be offset by less hassle of having to disclose, file, etc.;
PLUS the hugely reduced hassle,
(at least, for co.'s without big patent portfolios, now)
of not having to worry about
stepping on the toes of someone else's software patents.
   ...and, as for stuff like the DMCA, I am hoping that, over
time, any disputes over any "circumvention" of
"an effective technological measure" for limiting
copying or use of software, will either go away, or
at least it will be /become strictly a "contract law" type
issue (civil matter) between the parties, (IANAL)
rather than any kind of criminal complaint.
 Here's to the future!
-- 
Mike Schwartz
Glendale  AZ
schwartz@acm.org
Mike.L.Schwartz@gmail.com

> > I thought this was interesting:
> >     http://cr.yp.to/softwarelaw.html
> > --
> > Mike Schwartz
> > Glendale  AZ
> > schwartz@acm.org
> > Mike.L.Schwartz@gmail.com
> > ---------------------------------------------------<http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss>