Re: So....
Rather than argue about the software itself, they've chosen to argue about the medium on which it is supplied.
I think it's more that they've decided that the two are not the same thing.
There's precedent for that. I remember many years ago (pre-EU rules) the UK company where I then worked getting a copy of some software (the SPICE simulator, IIRC) from the US. It was supplied on ½" magtape, and the excise people took the view that the software was not a tangible good, and so not subject to import duties. The physical tape, however, was dutiable. The result was that we had a short period, 2-3 weeks, during which we could temporarily import the tape and then export it again without being expected to pay duty. If we kept it past that period we'd have had to pay. My first task on getting it was to copy the tape & send it back.
I'm guessing that the assumed value of the tape was calculated as the total product cost, I can't imagine the duty on a blank tape spool being high enough for all the hassle, so none of it really made sense. Them's the rules, though.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
