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Bradley Kuhn (bkuhn) - 10 years ago 2014-03-20 21:38:34
bkuhn@ebb.org
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@@ -2955,66 +2955,66 @@ technical restrictions through their weak and unorganized market power.  Even
 
limited to User Products, this provision addresses the fundamental problem.
 

	
 
% FIXME-LATER: link \href to USC 2301
 

	
 
The core of the User Product definition is a subdefinition of ``consumer
 
product'' taken verbatim from the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a federal
 
consumer protection law in the USA found in 15~USC~\S2301: ``any tangible
 
personal property which is normally used for personal, family, or household
 
purposes.''  The United States has had three decades of experience of liberal
 
judicial and administrative interpretation of this definition in a manner
 
favorable to consumer rights.\footnote{The Magnuson-Moss consumer product
 
  definition itself has been influential in the USA and Canada, having been
 
  adopted in several state and provincial consumer protection laws.}
 
Ideally, this body of interpretation\footnote{The FSF, however, was very
 
  clear that incorporation of such legal interpretation was in no way
 
  intended work as a general choice of USA law for GPLv3.} will guide
 
interpretation of the consumer product subdefinition in GPLv3~\S6, and this
 
will hopefully provide a degree of legal certainty advantageous to device
 
manufacturers and downstream licensees alike.
 

	
 
One well-established interpretive principle under Magnuson-Moss is that
 
ambiguities are resolved in favor of coverage.  That is, in cases where
 
it is not clear whether a product falls under the definition of consumer
 
product, the product will be treated as a consumer product.\footnote{16
 
C.F.R.~\S\ 700.1(a); \textit{McFadden v.~Dryvit Systems, Inc.}, 54
 
U.C.C.~Rep.~Serv.2d 934 (D.~Ore.~2004).}  Moreover, for a given product,
 
CFR~\S\ 700.1(a); \textit{McFadden v.~Dryvit Systems, Inc.}, 54
 
UCC~Rep.~Serv.2d 934 (D.~Ore.~2004).}  Moreover, for a given product,
 
``normally used'' is understood to refer to the typical use of that type
 
of product, rather than a particular use by a particular buyer.
 
Products that are commonly used for personal as well as commercial
 
purposes are consumer products, even if the person invoking rights is a
 
commercial entity intending to use the product for commercial
 
purposes.\footnote{16 C.F.R. \S \ 700.1(a).  Numerous court decisions
 
purposes.\footnote{16 CFR \S \ 700.1(a).  Numerous court decisions
 
interpreting Magnuson-Moss are in accord; see, e.g., \textit{Stroebner
 
Motors, Inc.~v.~Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.}, 459 F.~Supp.2d 1028,
 
1033 (D.~Hawaii 2006).}  Even a small amount of ``normal'' personal use
 
is enough to cause an entire product line to be treated as a consumer
 
product under Magnuson-Moss.\footnote{\textit{Tandy Corp.~v.~Marymac
 
product under Magnuson-Moss\footnote{\textit{Tandy Corp.~v.~Marymac
 
Industries, Inc.}, 213 U.S.P.Q.~702 (S.D.~Tex.~1981). In this case, the
 
court concluded that TRS-80 microcomputers were consumer products, where
 
such computers were designed and advertised for a variety of users,
 
including small businesses and schools, and had only recently been
 
promoted for use in the home.}
 
promoted for use in the home.}.
 

	
 
We do not rely solely on the definition of consumer product, however,
 
because in the area of components of dwellings we consider the settled
 
interpretation under Magnuson-Moss underinclusive.  Depending on how
 
such components are manufactured or sold, they may or may not be
 
considered Magnuson-Moss consumer products.\footnote{Building materials
 
that are purchased directly by a consumer from a retailer, for improving
 
or modifying an existing dwelling, are consumer products under
 
Magnuson-Moss, but building materials that are integral component parts
 
of the structure of a dwelling at the time that the consumer buys the
 
dwelling are not consumer products. 16 C.F.R.~\S\S~700.1(c)--(f);
 
Federal Trade Commission, Final Action Concerning Review of
 
Interpretations of Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 64 Fed.~Reg.~19,700
 
(April 22, 1999); see also, e.g., \textit{McFadden}, 54
 
U.C.C.~Rep.~Serv.2d at 934.}  Therefore, we define User Products as a
 
superset of consumer products that also includes ``anything designed or
 
sold for incorporation into a dwelling.''
 

	
 
Although the User Products rule of Draft 3 reflects a special concern
 
for individual purchasers of devices, we wrote the rule to cover a
 
category of products, rather than categorizing users.  Discrimination
 
against organizational users has no place in a free software license.
 
Moreover, a rule that applied to individual use, rather than to use of
 
products normally used by individuals, would have too narrow an
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