Re: A2 Trade/Swap ... site ...

[pausch@saafNOSPAM.se (Paul Schlyter)]

In article <396B1F92.3B46F06F@inetnebr.com>,
Roy and/or Janet Miller  <millers@inetnebr.com> wrote:
 
> Paul Schlyter wrote:
> 
>> I once saw someone else draw a line here, which I found pretty sensible:
>> if the software has been for sale somewhere during the last 5 years,
>> you should either buy it, or leave it alone.
> 
> Ah, but there part of the problem.... There are places, such as Sun
> Remarketing, who still sell old Apple 2 software, such as the Atari games,
> and products from Quark (at one time including Catalyst which is a fine
> program launcher).  So, how do you know if that product is still being sold.
 
I could for instance ask Sun Remarketing.....
 
 
> Next, what about the *used* software market? There are a lot of programs out
> there, and not just at thrift stores, that are being bought and sold on the
> net and at swap meets.
 
The used market is irrelevant here, since sales on the used market won't
bring the copyright owner any royalties.  And it shouldn't -- he already
got his royalties when the product was sold as new.  Remember that
copyright laws are there to protect the rights of the original author,
not to stimulate flea markets and the like....
 
BTW some software license "agreements" prohibits selling the software
product used to someone else......
 
> Finally, there is a pattern here that only takes a few weeks on csa2 to
> learn.  Someone mentions a site from which one can obtain software. Jeff
................
> Really, in many ways, this situation is like one person tapping someone on
> the shoulder who is about to jaywalk, and to inform them quietly that that
> is against the law, and that there are penalties for it. Then others jump
> in and begin a debate about how the law is silly, since it's three in the
> morning and there are few cars on the street, go ahead and jaywalk if you
> wish, no one will care and so on and so on. Jeff states the truth, just as
> it is still illegal to jaywalk in three in the morning, it is still illegal
> to copy copyrighted software. Even if no one will notice or care. That is
> not being a "vogon" that's simply giving people a quiet word to the wise.
> If no one else jumped in, that would be the end of it.
 
Don't know what "jaywalk" is, but both are right:  it's technically illegal,
and no-one cares (except the occasional law freak), therefore it's very
unlikelt that you'll be caught if you break the law jaywalking, or
pirating obsolete software, or cross the street against a red light at
2 AM in the morning....
 
 
> Sadly, that won't be the end of it.
 
Of course not -- likewise people will go on jaywalking, or crossing
the street against red light, or .......
 
Remember that to determine whether something is sensible to do isn't
as simple as just asking "is it legal?".  Also: law systems have
inertia, i.e. they take time to change.  At any time there are a
number if things which are illegal which really shouldn't be, and
many things which are legal but really should be illegal.  In the
past, sex outside marriage, homosexuality, saying something negative
about the church or the king, were all illegal and could easily land
you in jail or even a death sentence.  They remained illegal decades
after the last person who actually got sentenced for breaking those
laws.
 
"Protecting" something with no value with copyright seems equally
senseless.  Fortunately, the state won't prosecute you for breaking
copyright laws -- you'll get prosecuted only if the copyright owner
sues you.  And if the copyrighted item no longer has any value to
the copyright holder, quite naturally he won't bother suing you.
 
And there are always those who like to bicker: "...but it's illegal".
Sure, but there's no point in whining about it here!  Instead, you
should do one of two things:
 
1. Find the copyright owner and tell him who broke the copyright
of his product, where and when.  Then let him take action.
 
2. Shut up.
 
Doing anything else besides these two things doesn't make sense.
It's like, if you see someone crossing the street against a red
light, yelling "..but it's illegal, but it's illegal, but it's
illegal..."  which of course serves no purpose even if you say
something which is correct.  Instead you should call the police, or
ignore it all.
 
-- 
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