Thank you very much for clearing up my FUD. Well, I have never hidden the fact that I'm no legal scholar, and this is proof once again that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
I can only speak for myself, but between this and the discussions we had privately, I'm finally comfortable with the warranty. I would no longer let it stop me from using AFL in situations where I might currently use MIT or Apache-style licenses. bruce ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lawrence E. Rosen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'Bruce Dodson'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2002 2:59 AM Subject: Express and implied warranties in software licenses Bruce Dodson wrote: <snip> > The other two concerns -- about whether I'm on the hook for > other warranties besides the one that is offered explicitly > (Magnusson Moss). You are repeating the notion, occasionally mentioned on license-discuss, that if an open source license offers any warranties at all then the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose cannot be disclaimed. (See 15 U.S.C. §2308 [no supplier may disclaim or modify any implied warranty on a consumer product if such supplier makes any written warranty].) The Magnusson-Moss act deals with consumer products, meaning "any tangible personal property which is distributed in commerce and which is normally used for personal, family, or household purposes (including any such property intended to be attached to or installed in any real property without regard to whether it is so attached or installed)." 15 U.S.C. §2301. That does not include software because it is not tangible personal property. Software is intellectual property. If you combine software with a consumer product (e.g., a PDA or telephone), or distribute it on a tangible CD-ROM, arguably the entire consumer product would be subject to Magnusson-Moss rules. But the term "written warranty" in the act is defined as follows: (A) any written affirmation of fact or written promise made in connection with the sale of a consumer product by a supplier to a buyer which relates to the nature of the material or workmanship and affirms or promises that such material or workmanship is defect free or will meet a specified level of performance over a specified period of time, or (B) any undertaking in writing in connection with the sale by a supplier of a consumer product to refund, repair, replace, or take other remedial action with respect to such product in the event that such product fails to meet the specifications set forth in the undertaking, which written affirmation, promise, or undertaking becomes part of the basis of the bargain between a supplier and a buyer for purposes other than resale of such product. 15 U.S.C. §2301. I don't read the narrow express warranty in the OSL or AFL as meeting the criteria under either A or B. The notion that one runs afoul of Magnusson-Moss if a software license gives any written warranty whatsoever is not justified in law. /Larry Rosen -- license-discuss archive is at http://crynwr.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-cgi?3