[ILUG] It's legal to remove and then sell m$ windows?

[Matthew Gaylard]

Regarding the legality of naked PC's.

EULAs have gone crazy. I would guess that a significant number of EULAs
are open to challenge because you only get to read them once you've
bought the product and started installing it, with a Catch 22 clause
along the lines of "breaking this packaging seal represents an
acceptance of the EULA contained within".

Furthermore, an interesting judicial precedent from the US, which seems
based on upholding common-law principles, suggests that you can remove
software (eg Windows) from a product (eg PC) and resell it, whatever the
EULA says because purchasing software is just that - buying a product,
not a license. And you're allowed to resell any product that you buy.

See:
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=5628 for more detail.

I think what's needed is for people to get together the resources to
take software companies to court whenever they try to create strange new
legal frameworks for themselves. Or openly defy them and be taken to
court.

However, realistically, it's not just a problem that can be solved
legally - it's actually a political problem that expresses itself in a
wide-range of issues in relation to intellectual property, copyright,
and patent law.

Matthew Gaylard 
Senior Technical Writer
Ward Consulting 
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