Ed Foster's Gripelog spends the week with a series of articles on software ownership, copyright, licensing, and the chilling decisions being made in US Courts. It's stunning how few rights consumers have against software companies, compared to their rights (and the companies' responsibilities) in other industries like automobiles, food or consumer goods. Do Software Customers Own a Copy?. “When we a buy a book, we all pretty much understand what rights our ownership of that copy gives us. But what about software? Do we even own the copy, or does the inevitable “the software is licensed, not sold” assertion in the license agreement actually deprive us of rights we would otherwise have under copyright law? It's a question that Congress and the courts have failed to clear up, often with gruesome results….”