[MPlayer-dev-eng] KiSS of copyright

[Christof Buergi]

Camillo Lugaresi sagte:
> All I see is that the Swiss law explicitly allows personal use of
> published works, except that this clause does not cover software.
> The question is: if the law does not explicitly allow something, is
> it forbidden? I'd say it's the other way around: unless the law
> explicitly forbids it, it's allowed.

Ah, no. Normally, you're right: Something not explicitely forbidden is
allowed. But intellectual property is special

To make a long story short: Legally, the user doesn't own the
software. The copyright holder does. Thus, the user may not do
anything with the software unless it's explicitely allowed be either
the copyright holder or the law. Without this rule, all the laws about
intellectual property would be void. This is why this rule is in fact
part of the constitution.

BTW: In the US, some people try to eliminate this rule, since it
conflicts other parts of the constitution. Before you go and wish them
luck: The GPL would be worthless without this rule, as well.

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