Re: Rant 101- pirates killing ____? (AppleWorks 5.2/6.0!)

[Nibble@my-dejanews.com]

> Oh?
>
> I don't claim to be an expert in copyright law, but this makes no sense to
> me. Aren't copyright laws there for the protection of resellers as much as
> authors?

I think what the gist here is that we have some people who don't have any
formal or legal jurisdiction (or training, BTW) making demands that software
be removed from the Asimov site -- and they're not very happy about it. 
Other than playing "good citizen" and publicly denouncing the site, they
should realize that until they become a retained legal agent for these
potentially damaged parties, they shouldn't expect to have any real effect
nor pretend to.

The Asimov site is well within it's rights (as protected by law) to wait
until -OFFICIALLY- served with a cease and desist notification oe lawsuit by
the alleged damaged parties legal representative, agent OR law enforcement
entities. It's the standard procedure and a fact of life in the real world.

In the event Asimov did not comply, the issue would most likely become a
civil action, at which point it becomes the responsibility of the plaintiff
to defend their copyrights.  Some are more vigorous than others -- a company
may not see the need or value in defending a copyright for an outdated,
obsolete work, because of the costs involved in civil litigation cannot be
recovered from the defendents or there isn't sufficient sales revenue at
stake.	I doubt those responsible for Asimov would want to go to court either
because unless it's registered as a corporation, it's owners and operators
should they lose could be held personally and fiscally liable for any damages
awarded to the plaintiffs.

Ultimately, (and this is the important point that everyone should consider)
copyright laws exist to protect original work.	Companies that own copyrights
can choose to defend or not to defend them but it's THEIR choice, NOT the
peanut gallery we have here.

For anyone who really has an interest i>
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