Proposal for P2P disclaimer text

[Rob Kaper]

On Mon, Mar 15, 2004 at 10:36:04PM +0100, Marc Mutz wrote:
> As far as I understand it, they are suing the users, not the vendors.

If you ignore the Napster and Kazaa cases, perhaps.

I agree with you that KDE can't adjust its policies for every single small
possible legal issue. But I also agree with the majority here that in the
case of P2P file sharing, it's not a small issue and indeed one that
warrants a proper policy.

> 1. Given that you know that P2P software is mostly used for unlicensed
> copying of copyrighted material, why do you continue to ship it?

As a service to law-abiding users of KDE.

> 2. Given that you know that web browsers and IM software can be used for 
> unlicensed copying of copyrighted material, why didn't you add this 
> disclaimer to that kind of software?

Because Kopete doesn't support file transfers (at least not for the handful
of protocols I've tried) and because Konqueror doesn't act as a file server,
both are incapable of illegally distributing copyrighted material. As such,
the issue (and disclaimer) do not apply to this software.

> OTOH, I'm fine with a KDE-wide disclaimer "KDE is network transparent. 
> Therefore, almost every KDE application can conceivably be used for
> unlicensed coping of copyrighted material. yadda yadda." That would be
> much more trustworthy than singling out P2P software, which is just a
> funny way to do ftp/www.

I wouldn't mind to make the disclaimer more generic and allow it to include
a broader range of applications.

Rob
-- 
Rob Kaper     | 3/19 The Offspring AMSTERDAM, 3/24 Good Riddance AMSTERDAM
cap at capsi.com | 4/29 The Rasmus LONDON, 5/11 Ghost of the Robot AMSTERDAM
www.capsi.com | 5/14 Disney PARIS, 7/19 COPENHAGEN, 7/20 MALMÖ
              | 7/21 STOCKHOLM, 7/23 KÖPING, 8/1 OSLO
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