---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Can a one judge sitting somewhere in a…"
description: "\"Can a one judge sitting somewhere in a trial court issue an order that says nobody in the world is allowed to have, to use, to improve or to develop so..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/eben-moglen-39549_astonishing_can-a-one-judge-sitting-somewhere-in-a-t_986747.png"
---

#  Can a one judge sitting somewhere in a trial court issue…

![“Can a one judge sitting somewhere in a trial court issue an order that says nobody in the world is allowed to have, to use, to improve or to develop software for playing multimedia content without the permission of the manufacturers of the content themselves? .. This is an astonishing development…” quote by Eben Moglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/eben-moglen-39549_astonishing_can-a-one-judge-sitting-somewhere-in-a-t_986747.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/eben-moglen-39549_astonishing_can-a-one-judge-sitting-somewhere-in-a-t_986747.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/eben-moglen-39549_astonishing_can-a-one-judge-sitting-somewhere-in-a-t_986747.png)

> “Can a one judge sitting somewhere in a trial court issue an order that says nobody in the world is allowed to have, to use, to improve or to develop software for playing multimedia content without the permission of the manufacturers of the content themselves? .. This is an astonishing development in the course of our understanding of what we call the copyright bargain, the relationship between authors' rights, publishers' leverages and consumers' needs.”

[Eben Moglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eben-moglen/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Legal restrictions on software for multimedia can stifle innovation and limit consumer freedom.

**In simple terms:** Copyright can hinder software development.

Key Takeaway

Challenge restrictive software laws.

Themes

innovation freedom law

Mood

critical analytical

Type

legal philosophical

When to use this quote

- tech startups
- media streaming
- open‑source projects

Key Concepts

intellectual property digital rights software development

Questions to Reflect On

- Should creators be compensated for all uses?
- How can law protect both creators and users?

A Different Perspective

Balancing creator compensation with user rights is complex.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

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## More by Eben Moglen

> [If you're a capitalist and you have the best goods and they're free, you don't have to proselytize, you just have to wait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eben-moglen/if-you-re-a-capitalist-and-you-have-the-best-goods-and-they-re-free/)

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> [ As the commercial confrontation between \[free software\] and software-that's-a-product becomes more fierce, patent law's going to be the terrain on which a big piece… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eben-moglen/as-the-commercial-confrontation-between-free-software-and-software/)

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> [Everybody is connected to everybody else, all data that can be shared will be shared: get used to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eben-moglen/everybody-is-connected-to-everybody-else-all-data-that-can-be-shared/)

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> [“What is astonishing is that we, who had no idea how anything was going to turn out, now know exactly what happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-is-astonishing-is-that-we-who-had-no-idea-how-anything-was-going/)

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