Fine Points of the Law | Cultural Diversity

• John Deere became the most recent company in America to claim that, though a buyer may have paid in full for a device, he may not actually "own" it.

Deere claims that because its tractors run on sophisticated computer programs, the ostensible owner of the tractor cannot "tamper" with that software without Deere's permission -- even to repair a defect or to customize its operation.

Already, traditional movie videos may come with restrictions on copying, but the Deere case, according to an April report on Wired.com, might extend the principle to machinery not traditionally subject to copyright law. [Wired.com, 4-21-2015]

• The March arranged-marriage ceremony in Kanpur, India, was about to start when cousins of the bride (whose name is Lovely, daughter of Mohar Singh) commandeered center stage and demanded that groom Ram Baran answer the question, "What is 15 plus 6?" Baran answered, "17," and in short order, Lovely and her family began to drift out of the room, and the marriage was off.

Eventually, according to a Times of India report, the families settled the fiasco amicably, with all gifts returned. [Times of India, 3-13-2015]

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