Re: Grind FTP site

[jpenne@ee.ualberta.ca (Jerry Penner)]

snelson@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu (Steven Nelson) writes:

>Help!  I need guidance/advise/suggestions.

>It was bound to happen sooner or later.  The grind adminstrator
>received an e-mail message from (supposedly) Ian Schmidt (irsman@iastate)
>threatening legal action against grind.isca.uiowa.edu if we don't
>immediately delete AudioZap, ModZap, IRC, and Noisetracker files
>from the grind apple2 archives.  I've e-mailed Ian requesting verification
>that this was indeed his e-mail message.

I would move the files to an unreadable portion of the disk
(unreadable by FTP clients) and therefore temporarily appease Ian's
claims.  Then do what you can to find out if: (a) Ian has any basis
for his claim, and (b) there is any way for you to continue to
distribute the software.

I believe that since Ian is the author of the above mentioned
programs, he should be able to request they are no longer available.
As far as the noisetracker song files go, I doubt if he has any legal
claim to such things, if that's what the above refers to.  There is
some precedent here.  A few years ago, Jason Harper had a shareware
program called SHRConvert out.  He then jazzed it up and sold it
commercially as Super Convert.  He requested that all copies of
SHRConvert be removed from FTP sites, GEnie, AOL, etc.  His requests
were honored.

I would immediately remove the files from public access and then
destroy them if you ascertain that Ian does in fact have the right to
remove them from the public FTP sites.
--
Jerry Penner   jpenne@ee.ualberta.ca   or   jjp@myrias.ab.ca