Fitzgerald Joy Sylvester said on Sun, Dec 14, 2003 at 01:17:37PM +0000,:

Why free software has no warranty

No. Your impression is erroneous. Licenses of Free-as-in-swatantra Software enable you to provide warranty for a fee.

If there is warranty then we would get more support for our cause , what if free software is run on a life support system regards

Non free software does not provide any warranty even though you pay for it. Please go through the entire licenses of any non-free software license. These licenses do not permit third persons to accept the warranty liability for a fee.

I will try to explain this in a different way.

SITUATION I.

An example Non-free Software License reads :-

<begin quote>

<titlesnipped>

END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR MICROSOFT DESKTOP OPERATING SYSTEMS

<moresnip>

6. PRODUCT SUPPORT. Product support for the SOFTWARE PRODUCT is not provided by MS, Microsoft Corpor ation, or their affiliates or subsidiaries. For product support, please refer to Manufacturer's supp ort number provided in the documentation for the HARDWARE. Should you have any questions concerning this EULA, or if you desire to contact Manufacturer for any other reason, please refer to the addres s provided in the documentation for the HARDWARE.

<somemoresnip>

8. NOTE ON JAVA SUPPORT. THE SOFTWARE PRODUCT MAY CONTAIN SUPPORT FOR PROGRAMS WRITTEN IN JAVA. JAVA TECHNOLOGY IS NOT FAULT TOLERANT AND IS NOT DESIGNED, MANUFACTURED, OR INTENDED FOR USE OR RESALE A S ON-LINE CONTROL EQUIPMENT IN HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENTS REQUIRING FAIL-SAFE PERFORMANCE, SUCH AS IN TH E OPERATION OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES, AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION OR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL , DIRECT LIFE SUPPORT MACHINES, OR WEAPONS SYSTEMS, IN WHICH THE FAILURE OF JAVA TECHNOLOGY COULD LE AD DIRECTLY TO DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY, OR SEVERE PHYSICAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE. Sun Microsystems, Inc. has contractually obligated Microsoft to make this disclaimer.

<somemoresnip>

WARRANTY AND SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ANY OTHER COUNTRY LIMITED WARRANTY

LIMITED WARRANTY. Manufacturer warrants that (a) the SOFTWARE will perform substantially in accorda nce with the accompanying written materials for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of receip t, and (b) any Microsoft hardware accompanying the SOFTWARE will be free from defects in materials a nd workmanship under normal use and service for a period of one (1) year from the date of receipt. Any implied warranties on the SOFTWARE and Microsoft hardware are limited to ninety (90) days and on e (1) year, respectively. Some states/jurisdictions do not allow limitations on duration of an impl ied warranty, so the above limitation may not apply to you.

CUSTOMER REMEDIES. Manufacturer's and its suppliers' entire liability and your exclusive remedy shall be, at Manufacturer's option, either (a) return of the price paid, or (b) repair or replacement o f the SOFTWARE or hardware that does not meet this Limited Warranty and which is returned to Manufac turer with a copy of your receipt. This Limited Warranty is void if failure of the SOFTWARE or hard ware has resulted from accident, abuse, or misapplication. Any replacement SOFTWARE or hardware wil l be warranted for the remainder of the original warranty period or thirty (30) days, whichever is l onger.

NO OTHER WARRANTIES. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Manufacturer and its suppli ers disclaim all other warranties, either express or implied, including, but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, with regard to the SOFTWARE, the accompanying written materials, and any accompanying hardware. This limited warranty gives you spe cific legal rights. You may have others which vary from state/jurisdiction to state/jurisdiction. NO LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no ev ent shall Manufacturer or its suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever (including without limi tation, special, incidental, consequential, or indirect damages for personal injury, loss of busines s profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or any other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use of or inability to use this product, even if Manufacturer has been advised of the po ssibility of such damages. In any case, Manufacturer's and its suppliers' entire liability under an

<endquote>

Here, the manufacturer accepts only such waranty the law does not permit him to refuse; you do not need a license to accept a liability imposed by the law. Third persons canot do anything about that.

Situation II

The GNU General Public License.

<from the preamble>

You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee.

<from#11>

11. BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY | APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE | COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.

<endquote>

Re-read the lines with the | mark on the margin. Unlike non-free licenses, the copyright holders or third parties may, for a fee, accept warranty liability to th extent desired by the customer.

Whew!!! Sorry for the teal long quotes. I guess that most of you will not have access to the M$ EULA; so please bear with me.

In real life; in a real court, it is very difficult to pin down a liability for defective product if no payment (consideration) is made. If you do make payment for the product / service, it is next to impossible to avoid liability. So, on the issue of product liability issue, both Free and Non-free software are on equal footing; only that the users have the freedom of choosing the vendor they will pay for getting warranty support.