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Is this another robbing b star d?

Kevdan

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jfox61

jfox61

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Posted

It's not illegal to resell. However, he does say the software is his. He offers tech support. So how does he do that? presumably tech support = replace said knackered disk.

Copyright

This item is copyrighted. Any reproduction, duplication or resale of this CD-ROM is prohibited.

The individual software installer and screenshots are released under the GNU GPL. The license is available on the CD-ROM. All other images, items, box image, CD-ROM menus and designs are copyrighted and contain our protected IP.

Copyright © MT Software Solutions.

Furthermore he prints this at the bottom of the auction and surely this has to be illegal?

The box image is a screenshot of the main program screen so how can that be copyrighted?

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bigbox

bigbox

Posted
Posted

:icon_scratch: OMG :) heres something i just found about the company...

Fellow EBayers

Recently I purchased software from the company **Software Solutions for a beginners/advanced learner's guide to photography.

I was excited when the package arrived only to be quickly dissapointed upon reviewing it.

The MT Software Solutions branded item was instead a copy of the 1993 US Navy Nonresident Training Course in photography that is readily available online for free. I wrote the company about their deception to which they replied that they "are free to distribute this item as they saw fit" regardless that they were promoting a product that wasn't their own.

Is it the practice of this company to label others work as their own? If they are indeed free to distribute this item in the public domain - then why do they remove the cover page that indicates that this is a military training program and add their own image? And why no mention in their ad that this program was created for veterans of the US Navy in 1993?

It leads me to question how many of their other "innovative software solutions" are indeed cheap knock-offs of someone elses work.

So you have been warned fellow EBayers - let the buyer beware here!

wonder what else they are ripping good people off with...

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UnderTheRain

UnderTheRain

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The thing about free software is that it's all about the license. Things like the GPL allow for the free distribution of software so long as the original author is credited but it also allows you to make your own modifications/manuals/additions which you can charge for legally. One very commercial implimentation of this is Mac OS which is in fact BSD/Linux. When you buy Mac OS they give you the BSD/Linux bit for free and charge you for thier gloss on the top. This is perfectly legal and your are paying for Apples additions, expertise and support. People just need to understand what it is they are paying for.

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Sparrow

Sparrow

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This is a prime example of why I don't use Ebay any more. A shame for the genuine users but I'm not taking chances with my money. It may be technically within the law, but I would say it is well outside the spirit of the law.

Caveat emptor !!!!!:icon_scratch:

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Kevdan

Kevdan

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Hi Guys,

Im just so glad the internet has sites like this one and other forums and its not just used by people trying to make a fast prophit,

just one thing though could this be stopped if someone posted a free link to stellarium and the other free software on ebay?

Kev.

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rory

rory

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as a user of e bay over 5 or 6 years now. i actually think buying is on the whole quite good as long as common sense is applied. e bay tend to side with buyers more than sellers on many issues. which brings me to the selling side of e bay. i dont sell often anymore due to buyers rights on the site, and e bay charges paired with paypal charges ,makes selling a waste of time for smaller priced items.

ive had one bad transaction in over 300 .

i do like the astronomy buy and sell site,seems an honest site,but even there you'll to be on your gaurd.

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UnderTheRain

UnderTheRain

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I once watched an ebay auction where people were bidding on an xbox box I emailed everyone bidding telling them to read the sale carefully they weren't bidding on an xbox but the cardboard box it came in. Very naughty I'm always very dubious on ebay.

And I didn't think keeping tigers was legal that cat is MAHUSSIVE!!!

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JamesF

JamesF

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The thing about free software is that it's all about the license. Things like the GPL allow for the free distribution of software so long as the original author is credited but it also allows you to make your own modifications/manuals/additions which you can charge for legally.

The GPL allows you to redistribute unmodified and charge for it. there's no problem with that.

One very commercial implimentation of this is Mac OS which is in fact BSD/Linux. When you buy Mac OS they give you the BSD/Linux bit for free and charge you for thier gloss on the top. This is perfectly legal and your are paying for Apples additions, expertise and support. People just need to understand what it is they are paying for.

MacOS is partially derived (via NextStep) from BSD. It doesn't contain code from Linux as far as I'm aware however (unless both the BSD and Linux versions share a common ancestor). I'm fairly sure the BSD licence allows charging for unmodified code as well though.

You're right though that the licence is key, and from my recollection of the last time I looked into Stellarium's licensing there's no problem with reselling the application. There may be an issue with including some of the imagery however as I believe only the creators of Stellarium have permission from the copyright holders to distribute it at all.

James

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jfox61

jfox61

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The GPL allows you to redistribute unmodified and charge for it. there's no problem with that.

MacOS is partially derived (via NextStep) from BSD. It doesn't contain code from Linux as far as I'm aware however (unless both the BSD and Linux versions share a common ancestor). I'm fairly sure the BSD licence allows charging for unmodified code as well though.

You're right though that the licence is key, and from my recollection of the last time I looked into Stellarium's licensing there's no problem with reselling the application. There may be an issue with including some of the imagery however as I believe only the creators of Stellarium have permission from the copyright holders to distribute it at all. Not only that he has changed the program name and doesn't credit the developers or even state it is third party software

James

The point is though, with this guy, He is claiming copyright. If you read his terms and conditions he is prohibiting the use and distribution of the software as an infringement of copyright. Now that surely is against the law.

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