[Fsf-friends] About Warranty For Free Sofware

Sun Dec 14 20:46:11 IST 2003

Fitzgerald Joy Sylvester said on Sun, Dec 14, 2003 at 01:17:37PM +0000,:

 > Why  free software has no warranty 

No.  Your impression  is erroneous.  Licenses  of Free-as-in-swatantra
Software enable you to provide warranty for a fee.

 > If there is warranty then we would get more support for our cause ,
 > what if free software is run on a life support system regards

Non free software does not provide any warranty even though you pay
for it. Please go through the entire licenses of any non-free software
license. These licenses do not permit third persons to accept the
warranty liability for a fee.

I will try to explain this in a different way.

SITUATION I.

An example Non-free Software License reads :-

<begin quote>

       <titlesnipped>

       END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR MICROSOFT DESKTOP OPERATING
       SYSTEMS

       <moresnip>

       6. PRODUCT SUPPORT. Product support for the SOFTWARE PRODUCT is
       not provided by MS, Microsoft Corpor ation, or their affiliates
       or   subsidiaries.  For  product   support,  please   refer  to
       Manufacturer's  supp ort number  provided in  the documentation
       for the HARDWARE. Should you have any questions concerning this
       EULA, or  if you desire  to contact Manufacturer for  any other
       reason,  please   refer  to  the  addres  s   provided  in  the
       documentation for the HARDWARE.

       <somemoresnip>

       8. NOTE  ON JAVA  SUPPORT.   THE SOFTWARE  PRODUCT MAY  CONTAIN
       SUPPORT FOR  PROGRAMS WRITTEN IN  JAVA. JAVA TECHNOLOGY  IS NOT
       FAULT TOLERANT  AND IS NOT DESIGNED,  MANUFACTURED, OR INTENDED
       FOR USE  OR RESALE A  S ON-LINE CONTROL EQUIPMENT  IN HAZARDOUS
       ENVIRONMENTS REQUIRING  FAIL-SAFE PERFORMANCE, SUCH AS  IN TH E
       OPERATION  OF   NUCLEAR  FACILITIES,  AIRCRAFT   NAVIGATION  OR
       COMMUNICATION  SYSTEMS,  AIR  TRAFFIC  CONTROL  ,  DIRECT  LIFE
       SUPPORT MACHINES,  OR WEAPONS SYSTEMS, IN WHICH  THE FAILURE OF
       JAVA TECHNOLOGY COULD LE AD DIRECTLY TO DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY,
       OR SEVERE PHYSICAL  OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE.  Sun Microsystems,
       Inc.  has  contractually   obligated  Microsoft  to  make  this
       disclaimer.

       <somemoresnip>

       WARRANTY AND SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR THE UNITED STATES OF
       AMERICA AND ANY OTHER COUNTRY LIMITED WARRANTY

       LIMITED WARRANTY.  Manufacturer  warrants that (a) the SOFTWARE
        will   perform   substantially  in   accorda   nce  with   the
        accompanying  written materials  for a  period of  ninety (90)
        days from the date of receip t, and (b) any Microsoft hardware
        accompanying  the  SOFTWARE  will  be  free  from  defects  in
        materials a nd workmanship under  normal use and service for a
        period of one (1) year  from the date of receipt.  Any implied
        warranties on the SOFTWARE  and Microsoft hardware are limited
        to ninety  (90) days  and on e  (1) year,  respectively.  Some
        states/jurisdictions do  not allow limitations  on duration of
        an impl ied warranty, so the above limitation may not apply to
        you.

	CUSTOMER REMEDIES.   Manufacturer's and its  suppliers' entire
	liability   and   your   exclusive   remedy   shall   be,   at
	Manufacturer's option, either (a) return of the price paid, or
	(b) repair  or replacement o  f the SOFTWARE or  hardware that
	does not meet  this Limited Warranty and which  is returned to
	Manufac  turer with  a  copy of  your  receipt.  This  Limited
	Warranty is void  if failure of the SOFTWARE  or hard ware has
	resulted  from   accident,  abuse,  or   misapplication.   Any
	replacement SOFTWARE  or hardware wil  l be warranted  for the
	remainder of the original warranty period or thirty (30) days,
	whichever is l onger.

	NO  OTHER  WARRANTIES.  To  the  maximum  extent permitted  by
	applicable law,  Manufacturer and its suppli  ers disclaim all
	other  warranties, either express  or implied,  including, but
	not  limited  to  implied  warranties of  merchantability  and
	fitness for a particular purpose, with regard to the SOFTWARE,
	the  accompanying  written  materials,  and  any  accompanying
	hardware.   This limited  warranty gives  you spe  cific legal
	rights.     You   may    have   others    which    vary   from
	state/jurisdiction  to state/jurisdiction.   NO  LIABILITY FOR
	CONSEQUENTIAL  DAMAGES.  To  the maximum  extent  permitted by
	applicable  law,  in  no  ev  ent shall  Manufacturer  or  its
	suppliers  be  liable for  any  damages whatsoever  (including
	without  limi tation,  special, incidental,  consequential, or
	indirect  damages  for  personal  injury, loss  of  busines  s
	profits, business interruption,  loss of business information,
	or  any other pecuniary  loss) arising  out of  the use  of or
	inability to  use this product, even if  Manufacturer has been
	advised of  the po  ssibility of such  damages.  In  any case,
	Manufacturer's and its suppliers' entire liability under an

<endquote>	

Here, the manufacturer accepts only such waranty the law does not
permit him to refuse; you do not need a license to accept a liability
imposed by the law.  Third persons canot do anything about that.

Situation II

The GNU General Public License.

<from the preamble>

      You  may charge a  fee for  the physical  act of  transferring a
      copy, and  you may at  your option offer warranty  protection in
      exchange for a fee.

<from#11>

	11. BECAUSE THE  PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE OF  CHARGE, THERE IS
	NO  WARRANTY  FOR THE  PROGRAM,  TO  THE  EXTENT PERMITTED  BY
|	APPLICABLE LAW.   EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED  IN WRITING THE
|	COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM "AS
	IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED,
	INCLUDING,  BUT  NOT LIMITED  TO,  THE  IMPLIED WARRANTIES  OF
	MERCHANTABILITY  AND FITNESS  FOR A  PARTICULAR  PURPOSE.  THE
	ENTIRE RISK AS  TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE  OF THE PROGRAM
	IS WITH  YOU.  SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE  DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME
	THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.

<endquote>

Re-read  the lines  with the  | mark  on the  margin.  Unlike non-free
licenses,  the copyright  holders or  third  parties may,  for a  fee,
accept warranty liability to th extent desired by the customer.

Whew!!! Sorry for the teal long  quotes. I guess that most of you will
not have access to the M$ EULA; so please bear with me.

In real  life; in a  real court,  it is very  difficult to pin  down a
liability  for  defective product  if  no  payment (consideration)  is
made. If you do make payment for  the product / service, it is next to
impossible to avoid  liability. So, on the issue  of product liability
issue,  both Free  and Non-free  software are  on equal  footing; only
that the users  have the freedom of choosing the  vendor they will pay
for getting warranty support.

-- 
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  Mahesh T. Pai, LL.M.,                   
  'NANDINI', S. R. M. Road,               
  Ernakulam, Cochin-682018,               
  Kerala, India.                          

  http://in.geocities.com/paivakil         

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