Do you own it or do you not?

A little off of my usual tact but a friend of mine had an interesting entry on his Blog about a recent court case in the US concerning Lexmark.

Apparently the case centers on Lexmark claiming that anyone who buy a cartridge off of them (offered at a discount) enters into a contract to return the spent cartridge to Lexmark rather than get it refilled by other means.

From what I can gather it is based on the same ideals that govern most software purchased these days, i.e. by opening the software you agree to be bound by their terms and conditions. In this case I believe they have argued that opening the box signifies that you agree that the cartridge shall only be used once and then returned to Lexmark.

So I wonder how long it will be before every new car has a seal on the drivers door that states that by breaking the seal you agree to only fit proprietry (and over priced) parts to your car? Or toasters with seals on that say you will only toast Mothers Pride bread in them?

Being serious for a moment, this ruling basically turns on its head the notion that when you purchase something you own it! Apparently now you merely license it and never actually own it?

Right, I’m off to toast a bagel or two in my toaster.