Re: Building An Apple ][ Software Archive

[pausch@saafNOSPAM.se (Paul Schlyter)]

In article <39d51012_2@news3.prserv.net>,
Tom Zuchowski <tzuchow@attglobal.net> wrote:
 
> I have to go along with Paul and ask you what your source is for your
> statement that Freeware is *usually* copyrighted. I'd bet big bucks that
> darned little Freeware has actually been copyrighted.
 
Maybe earlier, but not today, since today any work is copyrighted by
default, and you must explicitly reliquish the copyright to make
it public domain.
 
> There's not really a big point to actually doing it
 
It need not be done -- if you take no action, your work is
copyrighted.  However you must do something to make it uncopyrighted,
e.g. add a note in the source code saying it's Public Domain.
 
I remember quite vividly when this change was made, some time in the
early 90'ies.  I had then contributed some pieces of source code to
Bob Stout's Snippets collection (http://www.snippets.org), taking for
granted it was public domain.  But I didn't explicitly write it in
the source code, so Bob Stout got in touch with me, asking me to add
such notes, for legal reasons.
 
> since there is virtually no *enforceable* distinction between Freeware
> and public domain. Freeware is nothing more than an appeal to the
> gentlefolk among us to abide by the author's wishes.
 
Well, if you produced a freeware application, and I stole it, made
some cosmetic changes, and then sold it, claiming it was my own
commercial software, and if you were able to prove this, then I'm
convinced you would have a legal case against me, and you would
win that case.
 
-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Schlyter,  Swedish Amateur Astronomer's Society (SAAF)
Grev Turegatan 40,  S-114 38 Stockholm,  SWEDEN
e-mail:  pausch at saaf dot se   or    paul.schlyter at ausys dot se
WWW:     http://hotel04.ausys.se/pausch    http://welcome.to/pausch