&gt; You only get a license to use the software<p>Nonsense. Show me the contract I signed that created that situation. (difficulty: a post-purchase EULA or inside-the-shrinkwrap document is <i>not</i> a contract)<p>I can&#x27;t copy Windows because of copyright law. If I buy a book I own that copy. I cannot copy it, but I can do what I want with that copy, because the author&#x27;s rights end at the first sale[1].<p>Now this does get complicated when you bring in the DMCA&#x27;s anti-circumvention clause. This is a separate problem that restricts the use of purchased goods.<p>There is a recent attempt to use the copyright on the firmware in in a product as leverage to extend these anti-circumvention restrictions to the entire product (see: John Deere[2]). As this drama is ongoing, we will have to wait to see how it is handled, but I would bet that the first sale doctrine is upheld; not because I think that outcome is likely, but because the alternative is <i>de facto</i> the end of personal property rights, which will not be a stable society.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;First-sale_doctrine" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;First-sale_doctrine</a><p>[2] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;ifixit.org&#x2F;blog&#x2F;7192&#x2F;john-deere-mess&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;ifixit.org&#x2F;blog&#x2F;7192&#x2F;john-deere-mess&#x2F;</a>