Want to trade

[shawn_cardwell]

For those who can't get enough (Note the very last sentence for those interested in "trading" originals):

The Law in the United States :
Software is automatically protected by federal copyright law from the moment of its creation. The rights granted to the owner of a copyright (ScholarWare) are clearly stated in the Copyright Act, Title 17 of the US Code. The Act gives the owner of the copyright "the exclusive rights" to "reproduce the copyrighted work" and "to distribute copies ... of the copyrighted work" (Section 106). It also states that "anyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner ... is an infringer of the copyright" (Section 501), and sets forth several penalties for such conduct. Those who purchase a license for a copy of software do not have the right to make additional copies without the permission of the copyright owner, except (i) copy the software onto a single computer and (ii) make "another copy for archival purposes only," which are specifically provided in the Copyright Act (Section 117). The license accompanying TopScore Pro® does not allow additional copies to be made outside of Title 17; be sure to review our End User License Agreement carefully.

Software creates unique problems for copyright owners because it is easy to duplicate, and the copy is usually as good as the original. This fact, however, does not make it legal to violate the rights of the copyright owner. The unauthorized duplication of software constitutes copyright infringement regardless of whether it is done for sale, for free distribution, or for the copier's own use. Moreover, copiers are liable for the resulting copyright infringement whether or not they knew their conduct was in breach of the law. Penalties include liability for damages suffered by the copyright owner plus any profits of the infringer that are attributable to the copying.

It has always been illegal to rent unauthorized copies of software. Concern over the fact that the rental of authorized or "original" software frequently resulted in the creation of pirated software led Congress to enact the Software Rental Amendments Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-650). This law prohibits the rental, leasing, or lending of original copies of any software without the express permission of the copyright owner.