Hello, is Wine use legal? I have Windows XP Home OEM, and I emulate Windows XP on Wine, under Linux/Debian.
On Sun, Mar 18, 2012 at 9:50 AM, az <wineforum-user at winehq.org> wrote:> Hello, is Wine use legal? >For what? Normal usage is definitely legal as all Wine does is to replicate the Windows API/ABI without using any of Microsoft's code (and this has a long history of being legal)> I have Windows XP Home OEM, and I emulate Windows XP on Wine, under Linux/Debian.Use of Wine does not require a Microsoft license. Use of Microsoft's code may or may not require one. James
what about for example Windows name, Windows fonts etc?
On Sun, Mar 18, 2012 at 10:34 AM, az <wineforum-user at winehq.org> wrote:> what about for example Windows name, Windows fonts etc? >Windows, with a capital W or a small w cannot, by right, be copyrighted. However, Windows98 or Windows7 can be. Thus, we cannot use this in the name of the product... Windows fonts are patented and in some cases require a Windows license. Fulfilling this is up to the user, we do not and cannot advise users to break the law (which varies by where you live.) Otherwise, as vitamin pointed out, the code used in Wine is legal, and free for legal use. James