Who Owns What We Produce?
Mark Bernstein notes that we can't freely transfer most software (he uses OS X as an example, but most commercial software works the same way). He then asks:
But you can use TextEdit (which comes with Mac OS X) to write a text file, which you can save, copy, and sell without further obligation to Apple.
Question: how do we know we can do this? Where is it written?
Similarly, how do we know, when buying a typewriter, that its manufacturer doesn't acquire some rights to whatever we produce with the typewriter?
Excellent question. Copyright law is the legal answer, but never mind that; consider how Copyright law has been twisted of late...
