Don Armstrong <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Perhaps I'm just not seeing or understanding clearly, but so far no > one who claims that free software licenses are neither a lease nor a > contract (at least in the US) has explained what type of legal > agreement they would be.
They are *grants of permission*, which is an existing well-established category. The closest traditional analog in the old common law was permission to enter another's land. Another way to put it is that they are enforceable promises not to sue for copyright enfringement. Thomas