Ah, missed that (or maybe I just didn't want to see it :beige: ). But that's a technicality. For all practical purposes it is, which is why Apple so actively prevented the obsolete System and application software from being freely distributed. It's not like anyone is going to use MacPaint, its code or any part of it for any serious commercial venture. Certainly the sale of the code, compiled or otherwise would be illegal. But freely distributed code and/or software for "non-commercial" uses, is pretty much all any of us have ever wanted with pre-System 7 software, and these days, pre-OS 8.1. "non-commercial use" allows for a wide array of use, including modifying it and freely sharing it with colleagues on forums like this. And once that cat is out of the bag, how do you put it back in?
I mean besides actually selling the software, what is a "commercial use"? Using it to design floor-plans for your interior design firm? Make kitsch digital art for sale on the internet? And who is to say you made it from that particular code and not an original copy of the application you bought entitling you to use it for "commercial" purposes? Considering it is code, I suppose the limitation is aimed directly at someone who might modify it or include bits of it in their own commercial software, but seriously, how practical would that be today with all the open source alternatives? Anyway, not to start a debate about copyright, it is clearly protected. But unlike a decade ago, it is being freely distributed for just about anything that's practical to do with it in 2010. Let's hope for more ...
I'm still just slack-jawed by the whole revelation.
EDIT: Ahhhhhhhhh .... here's the background story from Bloomberg/Buisness Week.
And here's the most interesting quote: