Re: Why "sell" in the first place
FYI, in the mid-1990's many of the fledgling software companies tried to circumvent U.S. law and the "First Sale Doctrine" by characterizing a consumer software product sale as a lease,a restricted license, or a restricted "rental". This attempt failed since these transactions had all the characteristics of an actual sale. These so-called "licenses" were called "shrink-wrap licenses" which referred to software licenses where the terms of the license were concealed from the purchaser until the the shrink-wrap packaging was removed and the box was opened. The majority of U.S. state laws found these types of licenses to be invalid and unenforceable. The software companies tried to circumvent state law by lobbying for federal legislation to permit such licenses but this effort failed due consumer opposition and U.S. legal precedent of the Uniform Commercial Code and the "First Sale Doctrine" which forbids restrictions on post-sale product transfers whether software or hardware