Looking the OpenSSL gift horse in the mouth [LWN.net]

Looking the OpenSSL gift horse in the mouth

Posted Sep 27, 2002 1:18 UTC (Fri) by giraffedata (subscriber, #1954)
In reply to: Looking the OpenSSL gift horse in the mouth by beejaybee
Parent article: Looking the OpenSSL gift horse in the mouth

>Any agreement that keeps lawyers out of everyone's hair is most
>definitely A Good Thing.

If someone's hair is harming other people, it's exactly where lawyers belong.

>I think in most countries it is accepted that if goods or services
>are supplied free of charge then the recipient has no right to sue
>for failures of material or performance.

Not the U.S. Here, you're liable for any damage your negligence causes another human being regardless of whether free goods were involved. That's why the BSD license exists. The BSD license says, "in exchange for this valuable software, you agree to assume the risk of damage that my negligence in writing it causes you." I.e. such software is not gratis.

You may be thinking about warranty. It is true that if you give something away, it doesn't come with any warranty. So unless there's negligence involved, there would be no basis on which the donee could sue you if it doesn't work.

Patents, which are the subject of this clause, are completely unrelated, though. There's probably no country where giving some property to someone for free means he has to let you use his patents.

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