ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Berne three-step test

Imagine you have a toy that you want to share with your friends. But before you do, you need to make sure that it's okay to share. The Berne Three-Step Test is like a set of rules to check if it's okay to share something that belongs to someone else, like a toy or a book.

Step 1: Check if it's fair

The first step is to ask yourself if what you want to share is fair to the person who made it. For example, if you want to share a book, it's not fair to the author if you let anyone copy the book and sell it without their permission. So, you need to check if sharing the book is fair to the author first.

Step 2: Check if it's limited

The second step is to see if the way you want to share is limited. This means that you can only share the toy, book, or anything else in a way that doesn't hurt the owner's profits. For example, if you share a book, you can't make lots of copies and sell them because that would hurt the author's profits. You can only share the book in ways that don't take away from the author's profits, like letting someone borrow it or reading it out loud to a friend.

Step 3: Check if it doesn't stop people from enjoying it

The third and final step is to make sure that sharing the toy or book doesn't stop people from enjoying it. For example, if someone wants to read a book that you're sharing, you can't make it too hard for them to find it or charge them too much to borrow it. You have to make it easy for people to enjoy it.

In short, the Berne Three-Step Test is like a set of rules to check if it's okay to share something that belongs to someone else. You have to make sure it's fair to the owner, the way you share it is limited, and that people can still enjoy it even if you're sharing it.
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