I'll be contacting the SIIA for more information about retail chains and returns; hopefully if I find out what I think, returning opened software won't be allowed, and those who accept it are violating the copyright laws and are subject to federal punishment. Since I work at Wal-Mart, if this proves to be correct, I may be able to straighten them out.. heavily.
WIPO Copyright Information
WIPO Members
If your country is listed as part of the WIPO and the Berne Convention... your local laws mean nothing. All copyrights are automatically protected without formalities. You can read more about it through the Copyright link.
Want to specifically know what you are personally entitled to through the copyright law?
SPA Piracy FAQ
Quote:
What exactly does the law say about copying software?
The law says that anyone who purchases a copy of software has the right to load that copy onto a single computer and to make another copy "for archival purposes only" or, in limited circumstances, for "purposes only of maintenance or repair." It is illegal to use that software on more than one computer or to make or distribute copies of that software for any other purpose unless specific permission has been obtained from the software publisher. If you pirate software, you may face not only a civil suit for damages and other relief, but criminal liability as well, including fines and jail terms.
The law says that anyone who purchases a copy of software has the right to load that copy onto a single computer and to make another copy "for archival purposes only" or, in limited circumstances, for "purposes only of maintenance or repair." It is illegal to use that software on more than one computer or to make or distribute copies of that software for any other purpose unless specific permission has been obtained from the software publisher. If you pirate software, you may face not only a civil suit for damages and other relief, but criminal liability as well, including fines and jail terms.
Community Member
I saw you posting this yesterday and that last quote made me think; one of my first PCs came with documentation that encouraged people to make a copy of their master floppy disks and work from the working copy. Would that mean that the archived copy is actually the master? It would only be used on one computer. Also, some agreements I have read state that only one copy is allowed, but in the list of copy mediums it includes RAM, hard disk, and other removable storage. Those have always been confusing because it effectively implies that I can't install the program or load it into RAM for running because the CD is the only copy I'm allowed to have.
I assume the copyright laws you state are for world copyright (where listed as part of those conventions) so local laws still do apply if the software isn't distributed beyond it.